The  Philosophy 
Mechanical  Principles 
Osteopathy. 


University  of  California,  Irvine 
Irvine,  California 


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I <J  txrvXc^s-otV 


THE,  PHILOSOPHY 

and 
MECHANICAL  PRINCIPLES 

*       -, 

OSTEOPATHY. 


By 

ANDREW  TAYLOR  STILL, 

Discoverer  of  the  Science  of  Osteopathy ; 

Founder  and  President  of  the  American  School  of  Osteopathy, 
Kirksville,  Adair  County,  Missouri. 


1902. 

HUDSON-KIMBERLY  PUB.  CO. 
KANSAS  CITY,  Mo. 


Copyright,  1892, 
ANDREW  TAYLOR  STILL. 


Preface. 


In  taking  up  a  pen  at  my  age,  and  assuming  the  re- 
sponsibility of  writing  a  book  on  the  causes  and  treatment  of 
diseases,  philosophically  and  in  a  comprehensible  manner,  with 
words  and  forms  to  meet  the  demands  of  this  enlightened  age, 
I  feel  it  is  a  very  great  undertaking,  and  ask  that  the  world 
give  me  its  friendly  criticism.  Read  and  adopt,  or  reject,  as 
you  may  feel  disposed  when  you  have  perused  what  I  may 
write.  I  start  out  on  this  journey  alone,  with  no  compass  ex- 
cept my  reason,  and  if  I  fail,  no  one  will  suffer  for  the  trip 
excepting  myself. 

A.  T.  S. 

JANUARY  i,  1902. 


"431.4 


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86  ,J3Gr3I   70  ,:;•"] 

yj;jft  I  iarfTr  b^- 

-7-'  •     -^    ^.ILTv^D  • 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION 9 

My  Authorities 9 

Age  of  Osteopathy. 9 

Demand  for  Progress 1 1 

Truth  Is  Truth 15 

Man  Is  Triune 16 

Trash 17 

Osteopathy 18 

Nature  Is  Health 22 

Our  Relation  to  Other  Systems 24 

CHAPTER  I.— IMPORTANT  STUDIES 27 

Anatomy 27 

Physiology 29 

Chemistry 31 

Principles  of  Osteopathy 32 

Symptomatology 33 

Surgery. 34 

CHAPTER  II.— SOME  SUBSTANCES  of  THE  BODY. 37 

Two  Hundred  Bones  .'.'."...' 37 

The  Brain ..'...;;. 40 

Cerebro-Spinal  Fluid 43 

Spinal  Cord 45 

What  Are  Nerves? .' 47 

Nerve  Powers. . . 50 

Three  Conditions  of  the  Blood-Corpuscles  .  . . .  51 

Fluids  of  the  Body 53 

Blood 53 

Disease  Defined .".' 56 

The  Fascia 60 

AnJQlustration  of  Conception ...'..'.  .V.v 65 

Lymphatics V.V. 65 

Universally  Distributed ....  . . . . 65 

Definition  of  the  Word  "Treat" .  . : 69 


4  .   PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

PAGB. 

CHAPTER  III.— DIVISIONS  OP  THE  BODY 72 

Mission  of  the  Doctor 72 

Five^Divisions 72 

CHAPTER  IV.— HEAD,  FACE,  AND  SCALP 77 

Causes  of  Effects 77 

Erysipelas 78 

Baldness 79 

Treatment  of  Erysipelas 81 

CHAPTER  V.— THE  NECK 86 

Organized  Substances  of  the  Body 86 

Treatment  of  the  Neck 87 

The  Arm 88 

Structure  of  the  Neck 89 

Croup,  Diphtheria,  Tonsillitis 91 

Treatment  of  Diphtheria 97 

Whooping  Cough 98 

CHAPTER  VI.— THORAX 101 

Inhibition  and  Stimulation 101 

Lungs — Place,  Power,  and  Use 102 

Pneumonia 104 

Consumption 105 

Its  Description 108 

Effects 108 

The  Cause no 

Miliary  Tuberculosis in 

Variety  of  Births 113 

Lung  Diseases 1 16 

Found  Effects 117 

Digestion 1 18 

Its  Philosophy 119 

The  Heart 121 

Development 122 

Heart  Disease 123 

Causes I^5 

A  Few  Facts "6 

Aneurisms I28 

Rheumatism 1 3° 

The  Internal  and  External  Mammary  Arteries 131 


CONTENTS.  5 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  VII.— DIAPHRAGM 132 

New  Discoveries 132 

Medical  Doctors 134 

Importance  of  Splanchnics 135 

The  Diaphragm  in  Health 136 

Out  of  Position 138 

Location 139 

Nervous  Prostration 140 

CHAPTER  VIII.— ABDOMEN 146 

Inhibition 146 

Thoracic  Duct. 150 

Feast  of  Reason 152 

The  Pancreas 158 

Importance  of  Pure  Blood 159 

Function  of^Viscera 166 

The  Mesentery 168 

Omentum 169 

Appendicitis 174 

What  Are  Abdominal  Tumors? 178 

Prolapsed  Viscera 180 

Liver 182 

Kidneys 183 

Stomach 186 

Process  of  Digestion  by  Electricity 188 

Constipation  of  the  Bowels 189 

The  Treatment  of  Constipation 190 

CHAPTER  IX— PELVIS 194 

Diseases  of  Bladder 194 

Rectum 194 

Uterus 197 

Effects  of  Wounds 198 

Tumors 1 99 

In  Health  and  Disease 200 

Gynecology 202 

Importance  of  a  Healthy  Womb 205 

Nature  Our  School 207 

Anatomical  Differences 208 

Our  Instruments 210 

Machine  Gives  Out  .  211 


6  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLED  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

CHAPTER  DC-CONTINUED.  PAGB. 

Examination 211 

Normal  and  Abnormal 213 

Treatment . .  215 

Whites,  Leucorrhoea 217 

Dropsy 218 

Cause  of  Uterine  Disturbances 219 

Less  Haste  with  the  Knife 221 

Tumefaction '. 223 

CHAPTER  X.— FEVERS 225 

What  Are  Fevers? 225 

Drugs  a  Failure 225 

An  Array  of  Truths 227 

Begin  with  Facts 228 

On  Fire 229 

Perfection  in  Nature 231 

Degrees  of  Heat 232 

Potter's  Definition 234 

Fever's  Only  Effects 235 

Result  of  Stoppage  of  Vein  or  Artery 237 

Fevers  Are  Fevers 237 

Go  to  the  Spine 239 

Congestion,  etc 241 

Look  for  Lesions 242 

Summer  and  Winter  Diseases 243 

Pedigree  of  Fevers 245 

Most  Dreaded 245 

Temperature 246 

CHAPTER  XI.— BIOGEN 248 

Development  and  Progress 248 

Origin  of  Action 249 

Forces  Combined 251 

Matter  in  the  Atom 254 

The  Visible  and  Invisible 256 

Man  Is  Eternal 258 

Advent  of  Man 260 

Survival  of  the  Weakest 260 

Mental  Dwarfs 265 


CONTENTS  7 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  XII. — SMALLPOX 269 

Origin  of  Contagious  Diseases 271 

The  Use  of  Vaccine 274 

Jenner's  Command  Not  Heeded 276 

Credit  Where  Credit  Is  Due 277 

Dangers  of  Vaccination 278 

Stand  Ready  for  the  Fight 279 

Victory  in  a  New  Germicide 281 

What  Smallpox  Does 282 

Treatment  of  Smallpox 284 

Good  Nursing 286 

Measles , . .  288 

A  Comparison 289 

Scarlet  Fever 290 

CHAPTER  XIII.— OBESITY 291 

CHAPTER  XIV.— EAR-WAX  AND  ITS  USES 294 

Nature  Makes  Nothing  in  Vain 294 

CHAPTER  XV.— CONVULSIONS 302 

Old  Systems  Unreliable 302 

Fits 303 

Rib  Dislocations 306 

CHAPTER  XVI.— OBSTETRICS 308 

Morning  Sickness 308 

Cause 309 

Treatment 309 

Development  of  Foetus 310 

Preparation 312 

Caution 312 

First  Examination 313 

Second  Examination 313 

Care  of  Cord 3*4 

Severing  of  Cord 31 5 

Dressing  Cord 3J5 

Delivery  of  Afterbirth 3*5 

Care  of  Mother 3*6 

Post-Delivery  Hemorrhage 31? 

Treatment 31? 

Diet 318 

Treatment  of  the  Breast 3*8 


Introduction. 


MY  AUTHORITIES. 

I  quote  no  authors  but  God  and  experience.  Books  com- 
piled by  medical  authors  can  be  of  little  use  to  us,  and  it  would 
be  very  foolish  of  us  to  look  to  them  for  advice  and  instruction  on 
a  science  of  which  they  know  nothing.  They  are  not  able  to 
give  an  intelligent  explanation  of  their  own  composite  theories, 
and  they  have  never  been  asked  to  advise  us.  I  am  free  to  say 
that  only  a  few  persons  who  have  been  pupils  of  my  school 
have  tried  to  get  wisdom  from  medical  writers  and  apply  it  to 
any  part  of  osteopathy's  philosophy  or  practice.  The  student 
of  any  philosophy  succeeds  best  by  the  more  simple  methods 
of  reasoning.  We  reason  for  necessary  knowledge  only,  and 
should  try  to  start  out  with  as  many  known  facts  and  as  few 
false  theories  as  possible. 

Anatomy  is  taught  in  our  school  more  thoroughly  than  in 
any  other  school,  because  we  want  the  student  to  carry  a  living 
picture  of  all  or  any  part  of  the  body  in  his  mind,  as  an  artist 
carries  the  mental  picture  of  the  face,  scenery,  beast,  or  any- 
thing that  he  wishes  to  represent  by  his  brush.  I  constantly 
urge  my  students  to  keep  their  minds  full  of  pictures  of  the 
normal  body. 


F  OSTEOPATHY. 
In  answer  to   the  question,  "  How  long  have  you  been 
teaching  this  discovery  ?"  I  will  say:     I  began  to  give  reasons 
for  my  faith  in  the  laws  of  life  as  given  to  men,  worlds,  and 
beings  by  the  God  of  Nature,  in  April,  1855.     I  thought  the 


10     PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

swords  and  cannons  of  Nature  were  pointed  and  trained  upon 
our  systems  of  drug  doctoring.  Among  others,  I  asked  Dr. 
J.  M.  Neal,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  for  some  information  that  I 
needed  badly.  He  was  a  medical  doctor,  a  man  of  keen  mental 
abilities,  who  would  give  his  opinions  freely  and  to  the  point. 
The  only  thing  that  made  me  doubt  that  he  was  a  Scotchman 
was  that  he  loved  whisky,  and  I  had  been  told  that  the  Scotch 
were  a  sensible  people.  John  M.  Neal  said  that  drugs  were 
bait  for  fools  ;  that  the  practice  of  medicine  was  no  science, 
and  the  system  of  drugs  was  only  a  trade,  followed  by  the 
doctor  for  the  money  that  could  be  obtained  by  it  from  the 
ignorant  sick.  He  believed  that  Nature  was  a  law  capable  of 
vindicating  its  power  to  cure. 

I  will  not  worry  your  patience  with  a  list  of  the  names  of 
authors  that  have  written  upon  the  subject  of  drugs  as  remedial 
agents.  I  will  use  the  word  that  the  theologian  often  uses  when 
asked  for  whom  Christ  died :  the  answer  universally  is,  "All." 
I  began  to  realize  the  power  of  Nature  to  cure  after  a  skillful 
correction  of  conditions  causing  abnormalities  had  been  accom- 
plished so  as  to  bring  forth  pure  and  healthy  blood,  the  greatest 
known  germicide.  With  this  faith  and  by  this  method  of  rea- 
soning, I  began  to  treat  diseases  by  osteopathy  as  an  exper- 
iment; and  notwithstanding  I  obtained  good  results  in  all 
diseases,  I  hesitated  for  years  to  proclaim  my  discovery.  But 
at  last  I  took  my  stand  on  this  rock,  where  I  have  stood  and 
fought  the  battles  and  taken  the  enemy's  flag  in  every  engage- 
ment for  the  last  twenty-nine  years. 

Columbus  had  to  navigate  much  and  long,  and  meet  many 
storms,  because  he  had  not  the  written  experience  of  other 
travelers  to  guide  him.  He  had  only  a  few  bits  of  driftwood, 
not  common  to  his  native  country,  to  cause  him  to  move  as  he 
did.  But  there  was  the  fact,  a  bit  of  wood  that  did  not  grow 
on  his  home  soil.  He  reasoned  that  it  must  be  from  some  land 


INTRODUCTION.  1 1 

amid  the  sea,  whose  shores  were  not  known  to  his  race.  With 
these  facts  and  his  powerful  mind  of  reason,  he  met  all  opposi- 
tion, and  moved  alone,  just  as  all  men  do  who  have  no  use  for 
theories  as  a  compass  to  guide  them  through  the  storms.  This 
opposition  a  mental  explorer  must  meet.  I  felt  that  I  must 
anchor  my  boat  to  living  truths  and  follow  them  wheresoever 
they  might  drift.  Thus  I  launched  my  boat  many  years  ago  on 
the  open  seas,  and  have  never  found  a  wave  of  scorn  nor  abuse 
that  truth  could  not  ride  and  overcome. 

DEMAND  FOR  PROGRESS. 

The  twentieth  century  demands  that  advance  in  the  heal- 
ing arts  should  be  one  of  the  leading  objects  of  the  day  and 
generation,  because  of  the  truth  that  the  advancement  in 
that  profession  has  not  been  in  line  with  other  professions. 
The  present  schools  of  medicine  are  injurious  schools  of  drunken 
systems  that  are  creating  morphine,  whisky,  and  other  drug- 
taking  habits,  to  the  shame  and  disgrace  of  the  advancement 
and  intelligence  of  the  age.  A  wisely  formulated  substitute 
should  be  given  before  it  is  everlastingly  too  late.  The  people 
become  diseased  now  as  in  other  days,  and  to  heal  them  suc- 
cessfully without  making  opium  fiends  and  whisky  sots  for 
life  should  call  for  and  get  the  best  attention  that  the  mind 
of  man  can  give. 

This  work  is  written  for  the  student  of  osteopathy;  writ- 
ten to  assist  him  to  think  before  he  acts,  to  reason  for  and  hunt 
the  cause  in  all  cases  before  he  treats;  for  on  his  ability  to 
find  the  cause  depends  his  success  in  relieving  and  curing 
the  afflicted. 

With  the  posted  osteopath  all  the  old  systems  of  treating 
diseases  are  relegated  to  the  waste-basket  and  marked  "Obso- 
lete ' '  He  must  remember  that  the  American  School,  of  Oste- 
opathy does  not  teach  him  to  cure  by  drugs,  but  to  adjust 


12  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

deranged  systems  from  a  false  condition  to  the  truly  normal, 
that  blood  may  reach  the  affected  parts  and  relieve  by  the 
powers  that  belong  to  pure  blood.  The  osteopath  must  re- 
member that  his  first  lesson  is  anatomy,  his  last  lesson  is  anat- 
omy, and  all  his  lessons  are  anatomy. 

LIKE  THE  APPRENTICE. 

He  is  like  an  apprentice  who  wishes  to  learn  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter.  The  carpenter's  first  instruction  or  his  first 
lesson  begins  with  the  framework  of  the  house.  His  instruct- 
or begins  at  the  foundation,  and  he  is  positive  and  emphatic 
that  it  must  be  very  solid,  it  must  be  perfectly  square  and  level. 
Then  his  instructor,  after  having  finished  the  foundation,  tells 
him  that  his  next  lesson  will  be  lectures  and  demonstrations 
on  the  sills,  which  have  to  be  long  enough  to  reach  the  whole 
length  of  the  foundation  walls.  He  saws  off,  splits  and  laps, 
and  completes  one  corner  of  the  building,  and  then  proceeds 
to  finish  in  like  manner  the  remaining  three  corners,  having 
fastened  together  and  squared  them  by  the  mathematical 
rule  of  6,  8,  and  10,  well  known  to  builders  as  the  rule  for 
obtaining  a  perfect  square.  At  this  time  the  instructor 
begins  to  teach  the  apprentice  the  importance  of  a  good  foun- 
dation. After  finishing  this  instructive  lecture,  he  tells  the 
apprentice  to  observe  the  rule  that  must  be  followed  to  pre- 
pare this  sill  for  the  studding  or  ribs  that  are  to  stand  firmly 
fixed  and  fastened  to  the  sill  upon  the  foundations.  These 
ribs  are  intended  to  hold  up  the  first  and  overhead  floors, 
which  are  supported  by  joists  extending  from  side  to  side  of 
the  building.  The  apprentice  soon  finds  or  is  told  that  there 
must  be  a  sill  or  wall-plate  at  the  upper  extremity  of  the  stud- 
ding, to  receive  rafters  and  roof  with  all  weights  thereunto  be- 
longing. Still  the  young  man  is  not  a  carpenter,  which  he 
will  observe  when  directed  to  put  on  the  siding  in  a  workman- 


INTRODUCTION  13 

like  manner.  Instruction  is  equally  important  at  this  stage 
of  construction.  He  will  find  that  his  first  and  many  other 
boards  that  he  puts  on  according  to  his  own  judgment  are 
condemned  and  ordered  pulled  off  by  the  master  mechanic, 
because  they  do  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  plans  and 
specifications.  On  his  next  examination  the  siding  looks 
and  shows  well,  and  the  young  man  smiles  with  the  thought 
that  he  has  pleased  the  old  man  once,  and  exclaims,  "How 
will  that  do,  boss?"  which  is  answered  by,  "Did  you  forget 
to  countersink  the  nails?"  The  young  fellow  says,  "Oh,  I 
did  forget  that."  At  this  time  the  boss  says  to  the  appren- 
tice, "Notify  the  painter  that  one  side  of  the  house  is  ready 
for  him."  The  boss  is  now  ready  to  give  instruction  in  ref- 
erence to  the  windows,  which  are  to  be  raised  and  lowered 
both  from  above  and  below  by  ropes  and  pulleys.  He  as- 
sists the  apprentice  with  a  few  of  them,  as  this  is  a  very  impor- 
tant part  of  the  work.  Then  he  instructs  and  trusts  the  ap- 
prentice to  proceed  with  the  balance  of  the  windows,  and 
orders  him  to  report  when  he  has  finished  one.  On  inspec- 
tion the  boss  says,  "O.  K. ;  go  on."  He  opens  the  plans  and 
specifications  and  says,  "We  will  now  lay  the  permanent 
floors,"  gives  a  few  instructions,  adjusts  a  few  boards,  and 
tells  the  apprentice  to  go  on  with  the  work.  After  a  time, 
the  boss  workman  brings  in  the  plans  and  specifications  to 
ascertain  whether  the  work  is  proceeding  according  to  the 
plans,  which  read  that  the  floors  in  all  joints,  both  side  and 
end,  shall  be  keyed  and  squared  to  a  perfect  fit.  He  says 
to  the  apprentice:  "There  is  a  crack  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
all  along  this  side  of  this  board;  and  several  boards  do  not 
meet  at  the  ends  because  they  have  not  been  cut  to  the  square. 
They  will  not  be  received  nor  paid  for,  because  they  have  not 
been  laid  according  to  the  plans  and  specifications ;  we  will 
have  to  tear  them  up,  and  lose  time,  lumber,  and  nails. ' !  At 


!I4  PHILOSOPHY  ANDRpl/es    OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

this  time  the  boss  gives  instruction  in  the  use  of  the  tri-square 
and  saw,  with  these  words,  "I  want  you  to  pay  special  atten- 
tion and  make  all  boards  fit  both  at  side  and  end."  As  we 
wish  to  stop  further  detailing,  we  will  say  that  this  rigidity 
in  following  the  plans  and  specifications  must  be  kept  up  un- 
til the  last  nail  is  driven,  and  as  the  house  approaches  closer 
to  the  finish  there  is  a  still  greater  demand  for  exactness,  and 
the  penalty  is  greater  for  omissions.  There  is  just  the  same 
perfection  of  work  demanded  of  the  plumber,  electrician, 
and  plasterer  as  there  was  of  the  apprentice  in  the  laying  of 
the  foundation  and  adjusting  the  framework.  I  have  given 
this  homely,  well-known,  everyday  illustration  in  order  to 
rivet  on  the  mind  of  the  student  the  working  hypothesis  that 
he  is  also  an  inspector,  and,  as  an  osteopath,  he  is  to  judge 
and  adjust  all  defects  or  variations  from  the  abnormal  to  the 
normal,  as  found  in  the  plans  and  specifications  for  the  healthy 
human  body.  The  student  begins  this  study  with  the  bony 
framework  of  the  house  in  which  life  dwells.  He  has  found 
that  the  foundation  and  all  parts  have  been  wisely  planned 
and  definitely  specified,  when  he  thinks  of  that  phrase  found  in 
Holy  Writ  which  reads,  ' '  Let  us  make  man. ' '  That,  to  the  stu- 
dent and  operator,  should  mean,  "Let  us  study  man,  who 
was  made  after  wonderful  plans  and  specifications,  and  when 
completed  was  pronounced  not  only  good,  but  very  good,  by 
that  scrutinizing  Inspector  who  makes  all  and  omits  noth- 
ing."  In  man's  construction  we  have  another  cogent  illus- 
tration of  the  truth  that  perfection  in  all  parts  can  only  be 
accepted  as  good.  This  hasty  comparison  I  hope  will  assist 
the  student  when  he  goes  forth  to  give  health  and  harmony 
to  the  afflicted. 

This  work,  which  is  designated  as  a  guide-  or  text-book 
for  both  student  and  operator,  will  be  written  with  the  pur- 
pose on  the  part  of  the  author  to  assist  the  beginners  and 


INTRODUCTION.  IS 

the  more  advanced  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  good  results  by 
accommodating  Nature  to  do  its  own  mending  and  restoring. 
The  doctor  of  osteopathy,  as  foreman,  can  only  preside  over 
a  shop  of  repairs;  and,  in  order  that  he  may  wisely  proceed 
and  make  his  investigations  thoroughly,  we  think  it  best 
to  divide  the  human  body  into  a  number  of  divisions,  begin- 
ning with  the  head  and  neck  and  including  such  diseases  as 
belong  to  that  division,  then  the  upper  spine,  chest,  and  its 
organs  to  the  diaphragm,  and  from  the  diaphragm  to  the 
sacrum,  and  from  the  sacrum  to  the  coccyx.  All  diseases 
common  to  the  human  race  will  be  classified  and  presented 
in  the  plainest  and  most  forcible  words  at  my  command,  to 
enable  the  reader  to  fully  comprehend  the  meaning  of  this 
philosophy,  which  is  written  to  simplify  a  knowledge  of  the 
cause  and  cure  of  all  curable  diseases  to  which  the  human 
race  is  subject. 

TRUTH  Is  TRUTH. 

We  often  speak  of  truth.  We  say  "great  truths, ' '  and  use 
many  other  qualifying  expressions.  But  no  one  truth  is 
greater  than  any  other  truth.  Bach  has  a  sphere  of  useful- 
ness peculiar  to  itself.  Thus  we  should  treat  with  respect 
and  reverence  all  truths,  great  and  small.  A  truth  is  the 
complete  work  of  Nature,  which  can  only  be  demonstrated 
by  the  vital  principle  belonging  to  that  class  of  truths.  Each 
truth  or  division,  as  we  see  it,  can  only  be  made  known  to  us 
by  the  self-evident  fact  which  this  truth  is  able  to  demon- 
strate by  its  action. 

If  we  take  man  as  the  object  on  which  to  base  the  be- 
ginning of  our  reason,  we  find  the  association  of  many  ele- 
ments, which  differ  in  kind  to  suit  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  designed.  To  us  they  act,  to  us  they  are  wisely 
formed  and  located  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  de- 


16  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

signed.  Through  our  five  senses  we  deal  with  the  material 
body.  It  has  action.  That  we  observe  by  vision,  which 
connects  the  mind  to  reason.  High  above  the  five  senses 
on  the  subject  of  cause  or  causes  of  action,  is  motion.  By 
the  testimony  of  the  witness,  the  mind  is  connected  in  a  man- 
ner by  which  it  can  reason  on  solidity  and  size.  By  smell, 
taste,  and  sound  we  make  other  connections  between  the 
chambers  of  reason  and  the  object  we  desire  to  reason  upon; 
and  thus  we  get  the  foundation  on  which  all  five  witnesses 
are  arrayed  to  the  superior  principle,  which  is  mind. 

MAN  Is  TRIUNE. 

After  seeing  a  human  being  complete  in  form,  self-mov- 
ing, with  power  to  stop  or  go  on  at  will,  to  us  he  seems  to  obey 
some  commander.  He  seems  to  go  so  far  and  stop;  he  lies 
down  and  gets  up;  he  turns  round  and  faces  the  objects  that 
are  traveling  in  the  same  direction  that  he  is.  Possibly  he  faces 
the  object  by  his  own  action.  Then,  by  about-facing,  he 
sees  one  coming  with  greater  velocity,  sees  he  cannot  escape 
by  his  own  speed,  so  he  steps  aside  and  lets  that  body  pass 
on,  as  though  he  moved  in  obedience  to  some  order.  The  by- 
stander would  ask  the  question,  "How  did  he  know  such  a 
dangerous  body  was  approaching?"  He  finds,  on  the  most 
crucial  examination,  that  the  sense  of  hearing  is  wholly  with- 
out reason.  The  same  is  true  with  all  the  five  senses  pertain- 
ing to  man,  beast,  or  bird.  This  being  the  condition  of  the 
five  physical  senses,  we  are  forced  by  reason  to  conclude  there 
is  a  superior  being  who  conducts  the  material  man,  sustains, 
supports,  and  guards  him  against  danger;  and  after  all  our 
explorations,  we  have  to  decide  that  man  is  triune  when 
complete. 

First,  there  is  the  material  body;  second,  the  spiritual 
being;  third,  a  being  of  mind  which  is  far  superior  to  all  vital 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

motions  and  material  forms,  whose  duty  is  to  wisely  manage 
this  great  engine  of  life.  This  great  principle,  known  as  mind, 
must  depend  for  all  evidences  on  the  five  senses,  and  on  this 
testimony  all  mental  conclusions  are  based,  and  all  orders 
are  issued  from  this  mental  court  to  move  to  any  point  or 
stop  at  any  place.  To  obtain  good  results,  we  must  blend 
ourselves  v/ith  and  travel  in  harmony  with  Nature's  truths. 
When  this  great  machine,  man,  ceases  to  move  in  all  its  parts, 
which  we  call  death,  the  explorer's  knife  discovers  no  mind, 
no  motion.  He  simply  finds  formulated  matter,  with  no 
motor  to  move  it,  with  no  mind  to  direct  it.  He  can  trace 
the  channels  through  which  the  fluids  have  circulated,  and 
he  can  find  the  relation  of  parts  to  other  parts;  in  fact,  by 
the  knife  he  can  expose  to  view  the  whole  machinery  that 
once  was  wisely  active.  Suppose  the  explorer  is  able  to  add 
the  one  principle  motion;  at  once  we  would  see  an  action, 
but  it  would  be  a  confused  action.  Still  he  is  not  the  man 
desired.  There  is  one  addition  that  is  indispensable  to  con- 
trol this  active  body,  or  machine,  and  that  is  mind.  With 
that  added,  the  whole  machinery  then  works  as  man.  The 
three,  when  united  in  full  action,  are  able  to  exhibit  the  thing 
desired — complete. 

TRASH. 

We  must  remember  that  when  we  write  or  talk,  we  have 
asked  the  reader  or  listener  to  stop  all  pursuits  to  read  our 
story  or  listen  to  it.  We  must  be  kind  enough  to  give  him 
something  in  exchange  for  his  precious  time.  We  must  re- 
member that  time  to  an  American  is  too  valuable  to  be  given 
for  hours  to  a  long  story  that  does  not  benefit  him.  We  care 
but  little  for  what  queens,  kings,  and  professors  have  said; 
it  is  what  you  know  that  we  want.  Man's  life  is  too  short 
and  useful  to  be  spent  reading  any  undigested  literature  that 


18  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

amounts  to  nothing.  Suppose  that  a  farmer  should  write 
on  stock-  or  grain-raising,  and  his  book  informed  the  student 
just  how  Professor  So-and-So  planted,  bred,  and  failed,  and 
gave  no  lesson  that  did  not  close  with  a  "However,"  or  "I 
would  remark,  as  stated  before,"  and  so  on.  Of  what  use 
would  it  be  to  the  young  agriculturist  who  read  it,  and  if  he 
had  no  other  instruction,  what  would  he  amount  to  as  a 
farmer?  You  know  he  would  be  a  total  failure  in  the  pro- 
fession until  he  learned  to  be  governed  by  known  truths. 
His  success  depends  on  what  he  knows,  and  not  on  being  able 
to  recite  what  someone  had  failed  to  accomplish. 

OSTEOPATHY. 

What  is  osteopathy?  It  is  a  scientific  knowledge  of 
anatomy  and  physiology  in  the  hands  of  a  person  of  intelli- 
gence and  skill,  who  can  apply  that  knowledge  to  the  use  of 
man  when  sick  or  wounded  by  strains,  shocks,  falls,  or  me- 
chanical derangement  or  injury  of  any  kind  to  the  body.  An 
up-to-date  osteopath  must  have  a  masterful  knowledge  of 
anatomy  and  physiology.  He  must  have  brains  in  osteo- 
pathic  surgery,  osteopathic  obstetrics,  and  osteopathic  prac- 
tice, curing  diseases  by  skillful  readjustment  of  the  parts 
of  the  body  that  have  been  deranged  by  strains,  falls,  or  any 
other  cause  that  may  have  removed  even  a  minute  nerve 
from  the  normal,  although  not  more  than  the  thousandth 
of  an  inch.  He  sees  cause  in  a  slight  anatomical  deviation 
for  the  beginning  of  disease.  Osteopathy  means  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  anatomy  of  the  head,  face,  neck,  thorax,  abdo- 
men, pelvis,  and  limbs,  and  a  knowledge  why  health  prevails 
in  all  cases  of  perfect  normality  of  all  parts  of  the  body.  Os- 
teopathy means  a  studious  application  of  the  best  mental 
talents  at  the  command  of  the  man  or  woman  that  would 
hold  a  place  in  the  profession.  Osteopathy  has  no  time  to 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

throw  away  in  beer-drinking,  nor  has  it  time  to  wear  out  shoe- 
leather  carrying  a  cue  around  the  pool-  or  billiard-table.  It 
belongs  to  men  of  sober  brains,  men  who  never  tire  of  anatomy 
and  physiology  or  of  hunting  the  cause  of  disease.  An  osteo- 
path answers  questions  by  his  learning.  He  proves  what  he 
says  by  what  he  does.  An  osteopath  knows  that  to  the  day 
of  the  coming  in  of  osteopathy,  the  whole  medical  world  was 
almost  a  total  blank  in  knowledge  of  the  machinery  and 
functions  of  the  abdomen  of  the  human  body.  The  medical 
man  to-day,  if  we  judge  his  knowledge  by  what  he  does,  is 
perfectly  at  sea  as  soon  as  he  enters  the  abdomen.  He  com- 
bats bowel  disease  by  methods  handed  down  to  him  by  symp- 
tomatology. Beginning  with  chronic  constipations,  he  rea- 
sons not  on  the  causes.  His  one  idea  is  to  fall  onto  a  success- 
ful purgative  drug,  vvhich  never  should  be  used  excepting 
with  great  caution.  When  the  most  active  purgatives  fail, 
with  the  aid  of  injections,  to  effect  a  movement;  the  bowels 
filling  up  and  packing  the  abdominal  cavity  so  full  and  tight 
that  no  organ  below  the  diaphragm  can  act  and  all  motion 
is  lost,  even  to  the  blockage  of  arterial  and  venous  circula- 
tion of  the  blood;  with  the  stomach  crowded  with  food,  then 
on  to  vomiting  of  fecal  matter  and  the  vitality  low  all  over 
the  body;  what  is  left  for  the  medical  doctor  but  surgical 
interference?  And  he  proceeds  with  his  instrumental  skill 
with  hope  and  doubt.  The  osteopath  gets  his  success  with 
such  diseases  through  adjustment  of  the  abdominal  viscera, 
with  the  view  of  relieving  the  bowels  of  bulks  of  fecal  matter, 
either  hard  or  soft,  that  are  laboring  to  pass  away  from  the 
body  through  the  natural  channels,  but  meet  mechanical 
obstructions  that  are  caused  by  kinks,  folds,  twists,  and  knots 
of  the  bowels,  the  result  of  heavy  strains,  lifts,  and  falls  that 
have  forced  the  bowels  to  abnormal  positions  in  the  abdo- 
men, deranging  the  mesentery  at  various  points.  The  oste- 


20  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

opath  feels  that  he  is  not  justified  in  administering  purga- 
tives, nor  even  injections  into  the  bowels,  until  he  has  straight- 
ened out  the  viscera  so  that  no  resisting  obstruction  is  liable 
to  block  the  passing  fecal  matter.  He  proceeds  as  a  mechanic. 

A  QUESTION  OF  INTELLIGENCE. 

• 
Osteopathy  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  books  as  it  is  of 

intelligence.  A  successful  osteopath  is  in  all  cases,  or  should 
be,  a  person  of  individuality,  with  a  mechanical  eye  behind 
all  motions  or  efforts  to  readjust  any  part  of  the  body  to  its 
original  normality,  because  unguided  force  is  dangerous,  often 
doing  harm  and  failing  in  giving  the  relief  that  should  be  the 
reward  of  well-directed  skill.  A  knowledge  of  anatomy  is 
only  a  dead  weight  if  we  do  not  know  how  to  apply  that  knowl- 
edge with  successful  skill.  That  is  all  there  is  to  the  question 
why  our  knowledge  of  anatomy  should  be  more  perfect  than 
it  is  with  any  other  school  of  the  healing  art.  The  osteo- 
path should  be  thoroughly  educated  by  books  and  by  drill, 
and  in  my  reference  to  books  I  mean  those  that  are  essential 
to  a  complete  knowledge  of  anatomy. 

For  fear  that  the  student  will  not  comprehend  what  I 
mean  by  the  books  pertaining  to  a  complete  knowledge  of 
anatomy,  I  will  give  something  of  an  approximate  list,  as  fol- 
lows: Descriptive  anatomy,  by  the  very  best  and  latest 
authors;  demonstrative  anatomy,  human  physiology,  histol- 
ogy, and  chemistry.  A  thorough  knowledge  obtained  in  the 
branches  named,  pertaining  to  the  one  subject,  anatomy, 
is  the  qualification  necessary  for  the  student.  He  must  re- 
ceive instruction  why  and  how  to  apply  this  knowledge  of 
anatomy  to  useful  purposes,  with  anatomical  exactness,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  vent  to  suspended  fluid  circulation  either 
to  the  parts  of  or  from  the  body,  locally  or  generally. 

With  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  form  and  functions  of 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

the  body  and  all  its  parts,  we  are  then  prepared  to  know  what 
is  meant  by  a  variation  in  a  bone,  muscle,  ligament,  or  fibre 
or  any  part  of  the  body,  from  the  least  atom  to  the  greatest 
bone  or  muscle.  By  our  mechanical  skill,  preceded  by  our 
intelligence  in  anatomy,  we  can  detect  and  adjust  both  hard 
and  soft  substances  of  the  system.  By  our  knowledge  of 
physiology  we  can  comprehend  the  requirements  of  the  cir- 
culation of  the  fluids  of  the  body  as  to  time,  speed,  and  quan- 
tity, in  harmony  with  the  demands  of  normal  life.  We  think 
that  osteopathy  has  proven  that  it  is  a  short,  true,  and  pow- 
erful science,  strictly  under  natural  law. 

OSTEOPATHY  AN  INDEPENDENT  SYSTEM. 
It  does  not  now  ask  nor  has  it  ever  asked  help  of  allop- 
athy, homeopathy,  eclecticism,  or  any  other  system  of  heal- 
ing. It  claims  independence  from  all  of  them,  and  ability 
to  steer  its  way  in  the  future  as  in  the  past.  All  systems 
depend  on  sending  guns  of  wisdom  into  the  camps  of  sickness 
with  orders  to  kill  disease,  but  not  to  hurt  the  sick  man, 
woman,  or  child.  No  difference  how  deadly  the  poison  the 
bullets  contain,  the  gun  must  shoot  and  kill  diseases  and  leave 
the  patient  well  of  all  maladies.  Some  cure  by  wise  looks 
and  words  to  suit  their  snapping  fingers.  Then  water  cure, 
prayer,  and  so  on  through  the  list,  come  in.  None  has  a 
foundation  in  a  well-regulated  system  to  insure  good  health 
and  long  life.  Osteopathy  proclaims  and  proves  that  suc- 
cess hi  cures  comes  when  all  joints  in  the  body  move  as  Na- 
ture ordered.  We  do  not  reason  that  Nature  would  turnout 
imperfect  or  inferior  goods,  for  the  market  of  this  or  any  other 
world.  Questions  like  the  following  must  have  a  negative 
answer,  with  substantial  proofs,  before  a  drug  doctor  is  able 
to  argue  intelligently  for  the  demand  or  need  of  adding  drugs 
to  a  sick  man's  blood:  "Has  Nature's  God  an  abundance 
of  skill  to  do  good  work  in  the  workshops  of  Nature?'! 


22  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY 

NATURE  Is  HEALTH. 

In  Nature  we  look  for  good  machines  in  form  and  action. 
We  have  learned  to  know  that  Nature  does  no  imperfect 
work,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  does  its  work  to  perfection, 
and  perfection  is  its  watchword  in  all  its  parts  and  functions. 
The  wise  man  has  long  since  learned  that  no  suggestions  he 
can  offer  can  do  any  good,  but,  as  a  rule,  are  vastly  harmful. 
He  often  kills  or  ruins  the  machine  to  such  a  degree  that  it 
fails  in  part  or  in  whole  to  do  its  work.  He  finds  his  supposed 
helps  have  disabled  his  man  or  woman  even  to  death.  The 
drug-giver  is  not  satisfied  that  God  has  quite  the  wisdom 
necessary  to  make  a  machine  that  will  do  the  work  that  all 
daily  demands  require.  He  hopes  to  do  something  to  have 
life  do  better  work.  He  sees  only  one  thing  in  which  to  begin 
and  end  all  his  labors,  "drugs. ' ' 

Does  a  chemist  get  results  desired  by  accident?  Are 
your  accidents  more  likely  to  get  good  results  than  his?  Do 
order  and  success  demand  thought  and  cool-headed  reason? 
If  we  wish  to  be  governed  by  reason,  we  must  take  a  position 
that  is  founded  on  truth  and  capable  of  presenting  facts  to 
prove  the  validity  of  the  truths  we  present.  All  Nature  is 
kind  enough  to  exhibit  specimens  of  its  work  as  witnesses  of 
its  ability  to  prove  its  assertions  by  its  work.  Without  that 
tangible  proof,  Nature  would  belong  to  the  gods  of  chance, 
and  the  laws  of  mother,  conception,  growth,  and  birth,  from 
atoms  to  worlds,  would  be  a  failure,  a  universe  without  a  head 
to  direct.  But  as  the  beautiful  works  of  Nature  stand,  giv- 
ing us  the  evidence  that  all  beings,  great  and  small,  come  by 
the  law  of  cause  and  effect,  are  we  not  bound  to  work  by  the 
laws  of  cause  if  we  wish  an  effect? 

OUR  RELATION  TO  OTHER  SYSTEMS. 
We  hope  to  get  the  first  premium  of  respect  from  the 
whole  world  for  attending  to  our  own  business.     We  expect 


INTRODUCTION,  23 

to  claim  what  we  merit.  We  are  free  Americans.  We  do 
not  want  to  lord  it  over  other  schools  and  we  will  not  be  lorded 
over,  nor  allow  our  just  rights  to  be  trampled  upon  or  taken 
from  us  by  any  medical  dictators.  We  expect  to  educate 
our  students  to  a  complete  preparation,  and  to  use  all  the 
time  necessary  in  that  preparation  in  surgery,  obstetrics, 
and  general  practice.  We  will  give  to  the  qualified  student 
his  diploma,  not  at  the  end  of  two  or  four  years,  but  when 
he  has  proven  his  knowledge  of  anatomy,  physiology,  chem- 
istry, surgery,  obstetrics,  and  of  all  the  principles  taught  in 
the  American  School  of  Osteopathy.  We  have  no  time  to 
spend  with  any  doubtful  theory.  It  is  quality,  not  quantity, 
that  we  want.  Other  systems  may  take  quantity;  we  take 
quality,  attend  to  our  own  business,  and  hope  that  other 
systems  will  attend  to  theirs.  Our  school  was  not  created 
for  a  tune-killer.  Brevity  should  be  our  object.  Qualified 
merit  is  the  best  thing  a  man  can  possibly  possess.  We  want 
a  full  share  of  that.  If  we  can  get  it  in  two  years,  by  putting 
in  every  day  and  night  in  hard  study  and  thorough  drills, 
and  can  stand  the  severest  tests  of  our  knowledge  and  prove 
to  the  world  that  we  know  what  we  claim,  then  we  want  to 
be  treated  civilly  while  we  pursue  our  profession.  Our  legisla- 
tures are  friends  to  progress  and  will  give  us  what  we  merit. 
They  are  all  Americans,  believe  hi  fair  fighting,  will  clear  the 
ring,  and  see  the  best  man  win.  A  just  verdict  is  all  we  ask. 
We  have  used  no  drugs  to  give  children  the  lockjaw,  and 
don't  intend  to,  but  if  the  members  of  the  medical  trust  do 
not  leave  us  alone,  we  will  ask  the  legislature  to  give  them 
a  little  anti-toxin  to  lock  their  meddlesome  jaws,  or  have 
"cow-rot"  injected  into  them  and  retire  them  to  Hot  Springs 
to  get  the  cow  syphilitic  tetanus  boiled  out.  I  mean  vaccine 
rot,  that  cursed  filth  that  is  taken  from  cows  afflicted  with 
mad  itch,  cows  with  all  the  venereal  diseases  of  man  and  brute. 


24  PHIWX30PHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY, 

Ou>  SYSTEMS  HARD  TO  THROW  OFF. 

All  old  systems  of  education  that  have  been  adopted  by 
the  people  are  very  hard  to  throw  off,  because  of  the  habits 
of  professors  who  have  been  made  teachers  and  have  taken 
the  places  of  their  preceptors  as  instructors.  They  follow 
the  old  system  without  a  murmur,  for  several  reasons.  First, 
the  young  teacher  can  teach  that  which  he  has  been  taught 
more  easily  than  what  he  may  feel  should  be  taught.  At 
this  time  the  young  man  or  woman  feels  that  he  must  have 
a  living  before  he  can  make  a  move  or  suggestion  to  change 
old  methods  of  instruction  for  new.  To  lose  his  place  and 
salary  would  nonplus  him  and  turn  him  adrift  hi  the  world 
with  the  name  of  a  fault-finder.  As  bread  and  meat  are  first 
with  him,  he  decides  to  be  silent  for  a  vear,  then  next  and 
next  year  rolls"  around  and  his  living  holds  him  into  silence, 
until  it  becomes  second  nature  to  him.  He  has  lost  all  hope 
of  reformation,  and  then  cencludes  to  be  a  popular  author. 
He  begins  to  quote  and  clip  and  finally  gets  out  a  "new 
book,"  with  no  friction  with  other  writers.  His  hair  now 
begins  to  grow  thin  with  suppressed  ambition,  and  in  a  few 
years  his  hair  all  falls  out  and  hope  is  forever  gone.  He  has 
learned  rote  teaching  and  how  to  compile  innocently  from 
other  old  theories.  Another  and  another  generation  follows 
this  old  system  that  has  not  given  a  single  new  thought  for 
ages.  Thus  our  people  are  dragged  through  centuries  because 
the  fear  of  losing  bread  and  meat  has  kept  the  teachers  in 
the  narrow  paths  of  the  most  ignorant  days  of  any  age  known 
to  history.  I  want  volunteers  to  push  this  medical  revolu- 
tion. We  must  conquer  before  our  hair  falls  out  or  we  will 
never  succeed.  I  have  just  read  a  text-book  on  gynecology 
that  gives  a  list  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  other  books 
quoted  by  the  author.  The  book  has  only  seven  hundred 


INTRODUCTION,  25 

pages  and  there  are  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  authors 
quoted.  If  there  is  a  single  hair  on  your  heads,  that  one  hair 
will  give  you  sense  enough  to  know  that  that  man  is  only  a 
clipper,  an  author  by  quotations.  He  is  not  the  kind  of  an 
author  that  will  ever  be  arrested,  tried,  and  found  guilty  of 
leading  a  revolution  and  shot  by  court-martial.  Our  school 
has  declared  itself  progressive.  We  try  to  fear  the  command, 
"Thou  shalt  not  lie.'!  Let  us  live  up  to  our  proclamations. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Important  Studies. 

\NATOMY. 

In  early  life  I  began  the  study  of  anatomy,  believing  it 
to  be  the  "alpha  and  omega,"  the  beginning  and  the  end, 
of  all  forms  and  the  laws  that  give  forms,  by  selection  and 
the  association  of  the  elements,  kinds  and  quantities,  to  the 
human  body.  The  human  form  indicates  an  object.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  constructed  as  a  hieroglyphical  representation 
of  all  beings  and  principles  interested  physically  or  mentally 
in  the  production  of  worlds,  with  their  material  forms,  their 
living  motions,  and  their  mental  governments.  Man  repre- 
sents the  mmd  and  wisdom  of  God  to  the  degree  of  his  endow- 
ments. This  is  shown  by  his  display  of  knowledge,  and  ability 
to  increase  that  knowledge  to  the  degree  of  fullness  attainable 
by  his  allotted  mental  perception,  and  by  his  accumulation 
and  association  of  facts  to  the  degree  of  able  conclusions. 
He  reasons  because  of  the  lack  of  that  amount  of  mental  abil- 
ity known  as  knowledge  absolute.  He  can  fill  all  the  limits 
in  his  sphere,  and  no  more.  The  fish  can  swim  up  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  water;  it  can  dive  to  the  bottom;  it  can  swim  the 
length  and  width  of  rivers  and  oceans  in  which  it  is  prepared 
to  dwell  and  explore — in  obedience  to  that  command,  "Thus 
far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther."  The  high-sailing  birds 
are  only  the  fish  of  the  atmospheric  ocean.  They  can  touch 
the  upper  surface  of  this  great  ocean ;  they  can  descend  to  the 
lower  surface;  their  limits  of  life  are  between  the  superior 
and  lower  limits  above  cited.  They  can  live,  flourish,  and 


28  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

enjoy  themselves  in  the  field  of  usefulness  for  which  they 
were  created.  The  same  of  the  fish.  The  same  law  is  equally 
applicable  to  the  human  being.  ll  the  fish  should  change 
place  with  the  bird,  it  would  surely  die  and  become  extinct. 
The  same  law  would  be  applicable  to  the  bird.  That  element 
that  sustains  animal  life  belonging  to  each  is  abundantly 
supplied  and  dwells  in  its  peculiar  environment.  The  same 
law  of  extinction  would  be  equally  forcible  should  the  bird 
try  to  dwell  in  the  waters  of  the  seas.  Let  us  make  the  ap- 
plication of  this  crude  base  of  our  philosophy,  and  make  a 
few  changes  for  the  convenience  of  reason.  Suppose  we 
should  move  the  heart  up  to  the  cranial  cavity  and  the  brain 
down  to  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  liver,  and  the  liver  to 
the  position  of  the  lungs,  and  place  the  lungs  on  the  sacrum; 
what  would  you  expect  but  death  to  both  fowl  and  fish? 
Thus  the  practical  osteopath  must  be  very  exacting  in  ad- 
justing the  system.  He  must  know  that  he  has  done  his 
work  right  in  all  particulars,  in  that  the  forms,  great  and 
small,  all  through  the  body,  must  be  infinitely  correct,  with 
the  object  in  view,  that  the  necessary  fuel  and  nutriment 
of  life  that  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Deity  may  be  adjusted 
to  the  degree  of  perfection  that  it  was  when  it  received  the 
first  breath  of  individualized  life. 

Osteopathy  is  built  upon  the  principle  of  debtor  and 
creditor.  We  must  willingly  credit  Nature  with  having  done 
its  work  to  perfection  in  all  the  machinery  and  functions  of 
animal  life,  and  that  the  after-results  are  good  or  bad  accord- 
ing to  centers  and  variations.  If  we  observe  any  variations 
from  the  normal  center,  our  work  is  never  complete  nor  the 
reward  due  us  until  by  adjustment  we  have  reached  the 
normal.  We  know  our  responsibility,  and  should  labor  to 
render  a  just  account,  and  willingly  submit  our  work  to  the 
anatomical  critic. 


IMPORTANT  STUDIES.  29 

PHYSIOLOGY. 

Works  on  physiology  at  the  present  date  are  compila- 
tions of  many  theories  and  a  few  facts.  In  animal  physiology 
we  all  know  that  a  babe  is  not  as  big  as  a  man,  but  that  it 
may  in  time  grow  to  man's  size.  To  get  large,  man  must 
be  builded  of  material  to  suit  his  form.  Each  piece  must  be 
so  shaped  that  in  union  with  all  other  pieces  a  complete  run- 
ning engine  will  be  made,  not  by  chance,  but  by  the  rule  of 
animal  engine-making.  When  complete,  he  is  a  self-acting, 
individualized,  separate  personage,  endowed  with  the  power 
to  move,  and  mind  to  direct  in  locomotion,  with  a  care  for 
comfort  and  a  thought  for  his  continued  existence  in  the 
preparation  and  consumption  of  food  to  keep  him  in  size 
and  form  to  suit  the  duties  he  may  have  to  perform. 

So  far,  we  are  only  able  to  see  man  in  his  completed 
form.  We  know  but  little  of  how  he  obtained  his  shape, 
size,  and  action.  At  this  point  we  mentally  ask,  How  is  all 
this  work  done?  We  soon  learn  that  the  book  of  Nature  is 
the  only  true  source  from  which  we  can  get  such  knowledge, 
and  if  we  are  to  know  the  whys  and  hows  of  the  wonderful 
work,  we  must  enter  the  shops  of  Nature,  observe,  and  reason 
from  effect  to  cause.  We  know  that  if  we  ever  know  the  whole, 
we  must  first  know  the  parts.  We  take  the  dead  man  to  the 
table  and  open  all  parts  to  view.  We  begin  our  book  of  knowl- 
edge under  the  wise  teaching  of  experience.  Here  we  launch 
out  on  the  sea  of  anatomy.  We  cut  away  the  skin  that  en- 
cases or  covers  the  whole  body.  As  soon  as  we  pass  through 
and  remove  the  skin,  we  enter  the  fascia.  In  it  we  find  cells, 
glands,  blood-  and  other  vessels,  with  nerves  running  to  and 
from  every  part.  Here  we  could  spend  an  eternity  with  our 
present  mental  capacity,  before  we  could  comprehend  even 
a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  powers  and  uses  of  the  fascia 


30  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

in  the  laboratory  of  animal  life.  From  the  fascia  we  journey 
on  to  the  muscles,  ligaments,  and  bones,  all  in  forms  and  con- 
ditions to  suit  Nature's  great  design  of  the  living  machine. 
By  the  knife  we  expose  organs,  glands,  and  blood-vessels. 

Let  us  treat  "Physiology"  with  due  respect  and  credit 
old  theories  with  all  the  light  they  give  and  all  the  good  they 
have  done,  but  do  not  be  afraid  of  their  wisdom.  So  far, 
they  have  only  seen  with  the  microscope  that  which  appears 
in  dead  flesh  and  in  chemical  analyses  of  the  dead  compounds. 
They  have  tried  to  learn  something.  They  say,  ' '  Possibly, ' ' 
' 'However, ' '  "Doubted  by  So-and-So, ' '  and  "As  we  remarked 
before  in  our  last  lecture,  that  there  was  great  differences  of 
opinions  on  the  subject  of  bacteria,  microbes,  and  various 
other  theories  on  the  physiological  action  or  blood-changes  in 
croup,  diphtheria,  and  all  diseases  of  the  throat,  trachea,  ton- 
sils, and  glandular  system  during  the  rage  of  such  epidemics. ' ' 
At  about  this  time  the  student  is  told  that  in  all  diseases  of 
the  throat  and  lungs  a  wonderfully  new  remedy,  antitoxin, 
in  full  and  frequent  doses,  has  been  very  favorably  reported 
upon,  and  that  less  than  50  per  cent  of  the  cases  of  diphtheria 
had  died  under  the  antitoxin  method  of  treating  the  disease. 
What  I  want  to  say  to  the  student  is  about  this :  I  think  that 
at  the  very  time  a  young  doctor  needs  knowledge  on  the 
cause  of  diseases  he  is  pushed  into  the  idea  that  he  must  look 
over  the  recipe  papers  till  he  finds  "Good  for  Croup"  on  a 
prescription-sheet.  Then  a  copy  is  sent  in  haste  to  the  drug 
store  to  be  filled.  The  good  but  wise  druggist  does  not  have 
quite  all  the  drugs  named  in  the  prescription,  so  he  puts  in 
substitutes.  If  the  patient  gets  well,  then  the  drug  clerk 
compounds  more  of  the  mixture  and  tells  the  world  what  a 
wonderful  "cure-all"  he  has  found.  The  next  prescription 
comes,  but  for  another  disease.  The  prescription  is  written 
by  the  same  good  old  doctor;  the  same  story — not  all  the 


IMPORTANT  STUDIES.  31 

drugs  on  hand,  another  substitute  is  tried.  That  patient 
dies ;  all  is  quiet.  The  druggist  feels  skittish,  hunts  the  pre- 
scription, and  keeps  it  to  show  that  the  doctor  sent  the  same, 
and  tells  that  it  was  duly  filled.  He  keeps  the  world  wisely 
ignorant  of  substitutes.  Thus  the  young  doctor  is  led  off  by 
symptomatology  to  the  idea  that  he  must  find  something  to 
give  and  take. 

CHEMISTRY. 

As  chemical  compounds  are  not  used  by  the  osteopath 
as  remedies,  then  chemistry  as  a  study  for  the  student  is 
only  to  teach  him  that  elements  in  Nature  combine  and  form 
other  substances,  and  without  such  changes  and  union  no 
teeth,  bone,  hair,  or  muscle  could  appear  in  the  body.  Chem- 
istry is  of  great  use  as  a  part  of  a  thorough  osteopathic  edu- 
cation. It  gives  us  the  reasons  why  food  is  changed  in  the 
body  into  bone,  muscle,  and  so  on.  Unless  we  know  chem- 
istry reasonably  well,  we  will  have  considerable  mental  worry 
to  solve  the  problem  of  what  becomes  of  food  after  eating. 
By  chemistry  the  truths  of  physiology  are  firmly  established 
in  the  mind  of  the  student  of  Nature.  He  finds  that  in  man 
wonderful  chemical  changes  do  all  the  work,  and  that  in  the 
laboratory  of  Nature's  chemistry  there  is  much  to  learn.  By 
chemistry  we  are  led  to  see  the  beauties  of  physiology.  Chem- 
istry is  one  thing  and  physiology  is  the  witness  that  it  is  a 
law  hi  man  as  it  is  in  all  Nature.  By  chemistry  we  learn  to 
comprehend  some  of  the  laws  of  union  in  Nature  which  we 
can  use  with  confidence.  In  chemistry  we  become  acquainted 
with  the  law  of  cause  and  change  in  union,  which  is  a  standard 
law  sought  by  the  student  of  osteopathy. 

Osteopathy  believes  that  all  parts  of  the  human  body 
act  on  chemical  compounds,  and  from  the  general  supply 
manufacture  the  substances  for  local  wants.  Thus  the  liver 


32  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

builds  for  itself  the  material  that  is  prepared  in  its  own  di- 
vision laboratory.  The  same  of  heart  and  brain.  No  dis- 
turbing or  hindering  causes  will  be  tolerated  if  an  osteopath 
can  find  and  remove  them.  We  must  reason  that  on  with- 
holding the  supply  from  a  limb  it  would  wither  away.  We 
suffer  from  two  causes — want  of  supply  and  the  burdens  of 
dead  deposits. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

This  branch  of  study,  Principles  of  Osteopathy,  gives  us 
an  understanding  of  the  perfect  plans  and  specifications  fol- 
lowed in  man's  construction.  To  comprehend  this  engine 
of  life,  it  is  necessary  to  constantly  keep  the  plans  and  spec- 
ifications before  the  mind,  and  in  the  mind,  to  such  a  degree 
that  there  is  no  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  locations  and  uses 
of  any  and  all  parts.  A  complete  knowledge  of  all  parts, 
with  their  forms,  sizes,  and  places  of  attachment,  is  gained, 
and  should  be  so  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  memory  that 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  use  or  purpose  of  the  great  or 
small  parts,  and  what  duty  they  have  to  perform  in  the  work- 
ing of  the  engine.  When  the  specifications  are  thoroughly 
learned  from  anatomy  or  the  engineer's  guide-book,  we  will 
then  take  up  the  chapter  on  the  division  of  forces,  by  which 
this  engine  moves  and  performs  the  duties  for  which  it  was 
created.  In  this  chapter  the  mind  will  be  referred  to  the 
brain  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  that  organ,  where  the  force 
starts,  and  how  it  is  conducted  to  any  belt,  pulley,  journal, 
or  division  of  the  whole  building.  After  learning  where  the 
force  is  obtained,  and  how  conveyed  from  place  to  place 
throughout  the  whole  body,  one  becomes  interested  and 
wisely  instructed.  He  sees  the  various  parts  of  this  great 
system  of  life  when  preparing  fluids  commonly  known  as 
blood,  passing  through  a  set  of  tubes  both  great  and  small, 


IMPORTANT  STUDIES.  33 

some  so  very  small  as  to  require  the  aid  of  powerful  micro- 
scopes to  see  their  infinitely  minute  forms,  through  which 
the  blood  and  other  fluids  are  conducted.  By  this  acquaint- 
ance with  the  normal  body  which  has  been  won  by  a  study 
of  anatomy  and  in  the  dissecting-rooms,  he  is  well  prepared 
to  be  invited  into  the  inspection-room,  to  make  comparison 
between  the  normal  and  the  abnormal  engines.  He  is  called 
into  this  room  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  engines  that 
have  been  thrown  off  the  track  or  injured  in  collisions,  bend- 
ing journals,  pipes,  or  bolts,  or  which  have  been  otherwise 
deranged.  To  repair  this  machine  signifies  an  adjustment 
from  the  abnormal  condition  in  which  the  machinist  finds  it 
to  the  condition  of  the  normal  engine.  Our  work  would 
commence  with  first  lining  up  the  wheels  with  straight  jour- 
nals. Then  we  would  naturally  be  conducted  to  the  boiler, 
steam  chest,  shafts,  and  every  part  that  belongs  to  a  com- 
plete engine.  When  convinced  that  they  are  straight  and  in 
place  as  designated  in  the  plans  and  described  in  the  specifi- 
cations, we  have  done  all  that  is  required  of  a  master  me- 
chanic. Then  the  engine  goes  into  the  hands  of  the  engineer, 
who  waters,  fires,  and  conducts  this  artificial  being  on  its  jour- 
ney. As  osteopathic  machinists  we  go  no  further  than  to 
adjust  the  abnormal  conditions  back  to  the  normal.  Nature 
will  do  the  rest. 

SYMPTOMATOLOGY. 

With  anatomy  in  the  normal  properly  understood,  we 
are  enabled  to  detect  conditions  that  are  abnormal.  It  may 
be  that  by  measurement  we  can  discover  a  variation  one-hun- 
dredth of  an  inch  from  the  normal,  which,  though  infinitely 
small,  is  nevertheless  abnormal.  If  we  follow  the  effects  of 
abnormal  straining  of  ligaments,  we  will  easily  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  derangements  of  one-hundredth  part  of  an 


34  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

inch  are  often  probable  of  those  parts  of  the  body  over  which 
blood-vessels  and  nerves  are  distributed,  whose  duties  are  to 
construct,  vitalize,  and  keep  a  territory,  though  small  in 
width,  fully  up  to  the  normal  standard  of  health.  The  blood- 
vessels carrying  the  fluids  for  the  construction  and  sustenance 
of  the  infinitely  fine  fibres,  vessels,  glands,  fascia,  and  cellular 
conducting  channels  to  nerves  and  lymphatics,  must  be  ab- 
solutely normal  in  location  before  a  normal  physiological 
action  can  be  executed  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  health- 
sustaining  machinery  of  the  body.  If  a  nerve  or  vessel  should 
be  disturbed,  we  would  expect  delay  and  a  subsequent  de- 
rangement hi  the  workings  of  the  laboratory  of  Nature.  Thus 
we  recognize  the  importance  of  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  large  and  small  fibres,  ligaments,  muscles,  blood- 
and  nerve-supply  to  all  the  organs,  glands  and  lymphatics 
of  the  fascia,  and  the  blood-circuit  in  general.  We  wish 
you  to  make  yourself  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
human  antomy  that  your  hand,  eye,  and  reason  will  be  un- 
failing guides  to  all  causes  and  effects.  We  wish  to  impress 
upon  your  minds  that  this  is  a  living  and  trustworthy  symp- 
tomatology, and  not  speculative,  having  its  commencement 
in  words  and  winding  up  with  unreliable  rehashings  of  anti- 
quated theories  that  have  neither  a  father  nor  a  mother  whose 
counsel  and  milk  have  ever  led  their  children  beyond  the 
yellow  chalk-mark  of  stale  custom,  born  and  sustained  to 
this  day  by  the  nightmare  of  stupidity,  ignorance,  and  super- 
stition. This  is  the  book  of  symptomatology  that  I  wish 
you  to  purchase.  Use  it  in  place  of  all  others.  Its  price  is 
eternal  vigilance. 

SURGERY. 

Surgery,  as  taught  in  the  American  School  of  Osteop- 
athy, is  to  be  used  as  often  or  as  much  as  wisdom  finds  it 


IMPORTANT  STUDIES,  35 

necessary  in  order  to  give  relief  and  save  life  or  limb  when  all 
evidence  with  facts  shows  that  blood  cannot  repair  the  in- 
juries. It  is  then  and  then  only  that  we  use  surgery  to  save 
life,  limb,  and  organs  of  the  body  from  worse  conditions,  by 
allowing  dead  fluids  to  destroy  them  by  poisoning  absorptions. 
Surgeons  of  the  Army  or  Government  are  the  commissioned 
officers  of  health,  with  powers  and  instructions  to  use  drugs 
or  anything  else  for  the  relief  of  the  wounded  or  sick  soldier 
while  in  the  service.  Their  duties  extend  to  the  use  of  both 
knife  and  spatula.  Surgery  has  its  place  in  the  scientific 
uses,  and  I  think  it  has  grown  to  be  a  very  great  science.  In 
the  hands  of  a  judicious  person,  it  can  be  of  untold  benefit; 
but  in  the  hands  of  a  bigot,  I  think  it  is  a  deadly  curse.  Oste- 
opathy is  surgery  from  a  physiological  standpoint.  The  os- 
teopathic  surgeon  uses. ' '  the  knife  of  blood ' '  to  keep  out  ' '  the 
knife  of  steel,"  and  saves  life  by  saving  the  injured  or  dis- 
eased limbs  and  organs  of  the  body  by  reduction,  in  place  of 
removing  them. 

We  want  to  avoid  the  use  of  the  knife  and  saw  as  much 
as  possible.  We  must  be  patient,  and  use  freely  a  skillful 
knowledge  of  physiology,  remembering  all  the  time  that  cures 
come  only  as  a  result  of  physiological  action  after  the  most 
skilled  surgeons  of  this  and  past  ages  have  done  their  best 
work.  We  do  not  expect  or  even  hope  to  improve  on  the 
skilled  arts  of  surgery  in  amputations  and  other  legitimate 
uses  of  the  knife  and  saw;  but  we  do  hope  to  understand  the 
forms  and  functions  of  the  parts  of  the  human  body  to  a  sav- 
ing degree  of  knowledge,  and  apply  that  knowledge  in  such 
a  skillful  manner  that  abnormal  conditions  demanding  the 
use  of  the  knife  will  not  occur,  such  as  tumors  on  and  in  the 
body,  or  stones  in  the  bladder  and  gall-sac,  which  form  when 
some  function  fails  to  keep  lime  and  chalk  and  other  sub- 
stances in  solution  as  Nature  intended  they  should  be  while 


3<>  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

in  the  circulation.  If  we  can  come  to  the  rescue  b'y  produc- 
ing better  drainage  through  the  veins  and  excretory  chan- 
nels, we  prove  our  ability  as  surgeons  by  using  Nature's 
knife  in  place  of  the  surgical  knife  of  steel.  Growths  in  the 
abdomen,  such  as  tumors,  only  form  when  some  channel  of 
drainage  is  shut  off.  If  we  wish  to  stop  or  remove  a  growth 
of  any  organ  in  the  abdomen,  we  must  line  up  the  body  in 
good  form  for  the  appropriation  of  the  arterial  blood  by  the 
organ  to  which  it  was  sent  out  by  the  heart;  then  fix  all  the 
vessels  of  drainage,  turn  the  nerves  loose,  and  the  work  will 
be  done.  Too  much  use  has  been  made  of  the  knife,  and  too 
little  trust  placed  in  Nature.  The  knife  can  be  seen.  Nature 
is  known  only  by  the  power  of  the  gift  of  reason  well  applied. 
The  knife,  particularly  for  the  last  few  years,  gets  larger  rolls 
of  cash  for  its  work  than  the  pills ;  also  the  grave  and  heaven 
get  more  men  and  women — that  is,  if  they  have  plenty  of 
money  to  pay  for  their  ride.  Poor  people  seldom  have  tumors 
or  appendicitis,  because  the  doctor  finds  he  can  attend  them 
without  the  knife.  I  tell  you  that  it  is  the  wealthy  who  gen- 
erally get  the  deadly  knife. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Some  Substances  of  the  Body. 

Two  HUNDRED  BONES. 

In  the  human  body  the  osteopathic  machinist  finds  about 
two  hundred  and  six  bones.  No  two  fit  the  same  joint  or 
move  in  the  same  place.  Bach  one  is  made  in  a  different 
form  or  shape.  Each  shape  indicates  a  different  place  and 
use.  He  finds  one  skull,  two  jaw-bones,  seven  neck-bones, 
twelve  back -bones,  five  lumbar  bones,  one  sacrum,  two  in- 
nominates,  two  thigh-bones,  two  feet  with' twenty-six  bones 
in  each  foot,  two  arms  with  three  bones  in  each,  two 
hands  with  twenty-seven  bones  in  each  hand,  then  two 
collar-bones  and  two  shoulder-blades,  and  so  on.  In  all  no 
two  alike.  You  know  from  your  knowledge  of  anatomy 
that  I  am  telling  you  the  truth  as  to  the  numbers  and  differ- 
ences in  forms  and  uses  of  the  bones  of  the  human  body. 
Your  reason  tells  you  their  natural  places  and  how  to  place 
them  in  their  proper  places  for  the  discharge  of  their  func- 
tions in  life's  machinery.  When  you  have  been  trained  in 
schools  of  anatomy  to  know  just  how  to  place  all  the  bones 
of  a  skeleton  in  their  proper  positions,  in  harmony  with  the 
one  or  ones  with  which  they  articulate,  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  body,  I  say  and  believe  that  by  the  time  you  have 
learned  all  their  natural  unions  and  articulations,  that  you 
have  learned  enough  to  know  when  any  bone  is  missing  or 
put  in  the  wrong  place.  I  feel  then  that  you  will  have  re- 


38  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

ceived  a  criticising  knowledge  of  what  is  right  or  wrong  in 
the  spine,  ribs,  and  limbs,  and  all  the  bones  of  any  part  of 
the  limbs,  spine,  or  chest. 

Armed  with  the  proof  that  you  do  know,  let  us  begin 
and  reason  that  the  two  hundred  bones,  all  different  in  forms 
and  uses,  are  all  firmly  fastened  together  with  strong  straps, 
and  they  must  each  have  a  differently  shaped  binding,  strap, 
or  ligament,  and  that  strap  must  be  long  or  short,  thick,  wide, 
or  narrow,  to  suit  the  long,  the  short,  or  the  flat  bones  of  power 
and  motion,  of  the  head,  face,  neck,  etc.  Every  bone  of  the 
back  and  chest,  every  bone  of  the  limbs,  and  every  other 
bone  has  muscles  attached  to  it  to  hold  it  in  its  socket  or  place 
in  which  it  moves  or  articulates. 

BONES  CONSIDERED  FIRST. 

My  object  in  this  talk  on  the  bones  is  to  encourage  your 
minds  in  plowing  deeper  in  the  fertile  soil  of  reason.  I  want 
you  to  see  that  all  force,  either  stimulating,  quieting,  motor, 
nutrient,  sensory,  or  any  kind  or  quality  of  nerve-supply, 
comes  to  the  muscles  and  glands  and  the  organs  of  the  whole 
system  from  some  depository,  and  has  got  to  get  to  its  des- 
tined muscle,  nerve,  vein,  or  flesh  through  gates  and  open- 
ings in  or  between  the  bones.  When  these  gates  are  shut 
or  closed  and  the  nerves  lose  control  of  the  blood  to  a  single 
muscle  or  a  whole  system  of  muscles,  with  all  supplies  of  the 
fascia  and  cellular  system  cut  off,  then  starvation  and  spasms 
of  muscles  appear  and  they  become  very  contracted  or  hard. 
Right  here  is  the  red  rag  of  the  masseur  or  the  osteopath 
who  dwells  so  much  on  the  inhibiting  nerves  and  muscles. 
His  lack  of  knowledge  in  the  field  of  philosophy  leaves  him 
in  the  field  of  a  masseur  only.  He  gets  some  good  results, 
and  thinks  his  rubs  are  the  best  rubs  in  the  world.  He  tells 
you:  "Have  the  patient  lie  on  his  breast,  face  down,  hands 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  39 

hanging  down  to  the  sides  of  the  table;  then  have  the  oper- 
ator stand  at  the  side  of  the  table  or  leather-covered,  uphol- 
stered bench,  and  look  all  over  the  spine  and  sacrum.  If 
a  high  bone  is  here,  a  low  or  sunken  place  at  the  center  or 
sides  near  the  transverse  processes  where  ribs  are  held  in  at- 
tachment to  the  spine  by  ligaments,  you  must  treat  here 
and  there  by  pressing  fingers  heavily  between  ribs  and  spine 
and  rub  the  back  up  and  down  with  the  hands  on  either  side 
of  the  vertebral  column. ' '  He  has  you  work  on  the  back, 
using  a  heavy  pressure  with  a  washerwoman's  motion  when 
she  has  a  shirt  on  the  washboard.  The  patient  gets  well  or 
dies,  and  the  masseur  thinks  his  hands  have  a  good  wash- 
board when  he  is  pushing  a  lean  woman's  skin,  fascia,  and 
rhomboid  muscles  over  her  ribs.  He  thinks  he  has  a  good 
job  in  a  health  laundry,  and  rubs  hard,  fast,  and  long.  He 
thinks  her  ribs,  twelve  on  each  side,  make  as  good  a  washboard 
as  "Mam"  ever  washed  a  sock  on.  He  never  stops  to  think 
that  ribs  are  tied  to  muscles,  that  they  are  tied  to  other  ribs, 
and  from  them  to  points  on  the  spine,  and  that  better  results 
than  with  great  pressure  of  a  man's  hands  on  the  back  with 
up-and-down  passes  could  be  obtained.  He  should  remember 
that  slipped  or  twisted  vertebrae  and  ribs  must  be  sought  out 
and  adjusted,  giving  intercostal  nerves  thorough  freedom  to 
act  and  soften  muscles  and  let  blood  loose  to  feed  and  nourish 
the  whole  spine.  I  contend  that  the  curing  comes  direct 
from  the  liberation  of  the  interspinous  and  costal  nerves, 
freed  from  bone-pressure  on  the  nerves  of  motion,  sensation, 
and  nutrition. 

How  are  we  to  proceed  with  the  process  of  setting  bones 
to  their  natural  places,  and  what  are  bones  supposed  to  do  by 
way  of  hindering  functional  action  when  much  or  little  at 
variance  from  their  exact  normal  place  on  the  bony  framework  ? 
All  nerve-power  issues  from  the  heart  and  brain,  and  both 


4O  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

are  storage  batteries  full  of  nerve-force  all  the  time  and  ready 
to  supply  any  set  of  nerves.  Why  should  we  think  other  than 
that  all  these  two  storehouses  require  of  the  nervous  system  is 
to  have  open  channels  to  receive  such  force  as  they  require  to 
do  all  functioning  incumbent  upon  them?  Open  doors  and  con- 
tinued wires  of  life  are  all  that  are  required  by  them  as  condi- 
tions before  the  brain  and  heart  send  out  their  active  forces.  Os- 
teopathy believes  that  the  brain  and  heart  are  fully  supplied 
with  all  the  living  forces,  and  will  send  power  to  any  place  with 
which  they  have  nerve-connections  without  any  rubbing  or 
manipulation  further  than  to  insure  unobstructive  flow  of  the 
nerve-forces.  That  power  gets  abnormally  slow  or  fast  only 
when  the  full  supply  is  cut  off  or  limited  before  it  leaves  the 
bones  surrounding  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  Our  work  is  done 
when  we  leave  open  the  nerve-channels  to  the  perfect  eye  of 
Nature's  inspection.  Blood-  and  nerve-force  return  to  the 
normal  when  freedom  is  given  the  nerves  to  act.  There  is  no 
need  for  an  operator  to  unnecessarily  tire  himself  and  his 
patient  when  no  good  is  to  be  derived  from  the  effort.  He  is 
dealing  with  cause  and  effect.  He  must  not  fall  back  to  the  low 
plane  of  reason  on  which  a  masseur  dwells.  The  latter's  force 
is  applied  with  no  lamp  of  reason  burning  in  his  camp.  The 
masseur  works  hard  and  gets  some  good  results,  but  does  not 
know  how  nor  why  they  came,  more  than  that  he  has  given  the 
patient  a  good  "all-over  rooting. ' '  We  pay  for  a  lamp  of  rea- 
son to  guide  us.  We  feel  that  we  are  only  tinkling  cymbals  or 
sounding  brass  as  osteopaths  until  we  can  have  reason  at  the 
beginning  and  the  end  of  all  our  methods  or  efforts  to  cure  the 
afflicted. 

THE  BRAIN. 

Of  all  parts  of  the  body  of  man,  the  brain  should  be  the 
most  attractive.     It  is  the  place  where  all  force  centers,  where 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  4! 

all  nerves  are  connected  with  one  common  battery.  By  its  or- 
ders the  laboratories  of  life  begin  to  act  on  crude  material  and 
work  until  blood  is  formed  and  transformed  into  food  for  the 
nerves  first,  then  the  arteries  and  veins.  The  brain  furnishes 
nerve-action  and  forces  to  suit  each  class  of  work  to  be  done  by 
that  set  of  nerves  which  is  to  construct  forms  and  to  keep  blood 
constantly  in  motion  in  the  arteries  and  from  all  parts  back  to  the 
heart  through  the  veins,  that  it  may  be  purified,  renewed,  and  re- 
enter  the  circulation.  Arterial  motion  is  normal  during  all  ages, 
from  the  quick  pulse  of  the  babe's  arm  to  the  slow  pulse  of  the 
aged.  At  advanced  age  the  pulse  is  so  slow  that  heat  is  not  suffi- 
ciently generated  by  the  nerves,  whose  force  is  not  great  enough 
to  bring  electricity  to  the  stage  of  heat.  All  temperature,  high 
and  low,  surely  is  the  effect  of  active  electricity— plus  to  fever, 
minus  to  coldness.  When  an  irritant  enters  the  body  by  the 
lungs,  skin,  or  in  any  other  way,  a  change  appears  in  the  heart's 
action  from  its  effect  on  the  brain  to  a  high  electric  action. 
That  burning  heat  is  called  fever.  If  plus,  we  may  have  a  vio- 
lent type,  as  in  yellow  fever ;  if  minus,  we  may  have  low  grades, 
as  in  typhus  and  typhoid  fevers,  and  so  on  through  the  list. 

THOUGHT  IMPLIES  ACTION. 

To  think  implies  action  of  the  brain.  We  can  grade  thought, 
although  we  cannot  measure  its  speed.  Suppose  a  person  in  one 
line  of  business  thinks  fast  enough  to  suit  that  kind  of  work. 
We  will  take  a  farmer  who  is  devoting  his  time  and  energies  to 
hog-raising.  Now  the  question  is,  How  fast  does  he  think?  How 
many  revolutions  do  the  wheels  of  his  head  make  per  minute  to 
do  all  the  necessary  thinking  connected  with  his  business?  Say 
his  mental  wheels  revolve  one  hundred  times  per  minute.  Then 
he  adds  sheep-raising  to  his  business,  and  if  that  should  require 
one  hundred  more  revolutions,  and  he  takes  charge  of  raising 
draft-horses,  with  one  hundred  andseventv-five  more  revolutions 


42  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

added,  you  can  see  the  wheels  of  his  head  are  whizzing  off  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  vibrations  per  minute.  And  at  this 
time  he  adds  the  duties  of  a  carpenter,  with  three  hundred  more 
revolutions.  Add  them  together,  and  you  see  six  hundred  and 
seventy-five.  To  this  number  he  adds  the  duties  and  thoughts 
of  a  sheriff,  which  are  numerous  enough  to  buzz  his  wheels  at 
fifteen  hundred  revolutions  more,  and  you  find  twenty- one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  to  be  the  count  of  his  mental  revolutions 
so  far.  Now  you'have  the  great  physical  demands  added  to  the 
mental  motion  which  his  brain  has  to  support,  yet  he  can  do 
all,  so  far,  fairly  well. 

He  now  adds  to  his  labors  the  manufacturing  of  leather  from 
all  kinds  of  hides,  with  the  chemistry  of  fine  tanning,  and  this 
adds  a  strain  equal  to  the  sum  of  all  previous  mental  motions. 
Add  and  you  find  forty-two  hundred  and  fifty  revolutions  all 
drawing  on  his  brain  each  minute  of  the  day.  Add  to  this  men- 
tal strain  the  increased  action  of  his  body  which  has  to  perform 
the  duties,  and  you  have  the  beginning  of  a  worry  of  both  mind 
and  body,  to  which  we  will  add  manuf acturing  of  engines,  iron- 
smelting,  rolling,  etc. ;  send  him  as  a  delegate  to  a  national  con- 
vention, give  him  thoughts  of  the  death  of  a  near  relative,  and 
add  to  this  a  security  debt  to  meet  during  a  money  panic.  By 
this  time  the  mind  begins  to  fag  below  the  power  of  resistance. 

A  continuance  of  these  great  mental  vibrations  for  a  long 
time  finally  stops  nutrition  of  all  or  one-half  of  the  brain, 
and  we  have  a  case  of  "hemiplegia, "  or  the  wheels  of  one-half 
of  the  brain  run  so  fast  as  to  overcome  some  fountain  of  nerve- 
force  and  explode  some  cerebral  artery  in  the  brain  and  deposit 
a  clot  of  blood  at  some  motor  supply  center  or  plexus.  Thus  we 
find  men  from  over  mental  action  fall  in  our  national  councils, 
courts,  manufactories,  churches,  and  in  almost  all  places  of  great 
mental  activity.  Slaves  and  savages  seldom  fall  victims  to 
paralysis  of  any  kind,  but  escape,  for  they  know  nothing  of  the 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  43 

strain  of  mind  and  hurried  nutrition.  They  eat  and  rest,  live 
long,  and  are  happy.  The  idea  of  riches  never  bothers  their 
slumbers.  Physical  injuries  may  and  often  do  wound  motor, 
sensory,  and  nutrient  centers  of  the  brain ;  but  the  effect  is  just 
the  same — partial  or  complete  suspension  of  the  motor  and  sen- 
sory systems.  If  you  burst  a  boiler  by  high  pressure  or  other- 
wise, your  engine  ceases  to  move.  And  just  the  same  of  an  over- 
worked brain  or  body.  Hemiplegia  means,  when  divided, '  'half ' ' 
and  "I  strike, "  or  paralysis  of  one-half  of  the  body.  Hemiple- 
gia is  usually  the  result  of  a  cerebral  hemorrhage  or  embolism. 
It  sometimes  occurs  suddenly  without  other  marked  symptoms ; 
but  commonly  it  is  ushered  in  by  an  apoplectic  attack,  and  on 
return  of  consciousness  it  is  observed  that  one  side  of  the  body 
is  paralyzed,  the  paralysis  being  often  profound  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  disappearing  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  at  a  later  pe- 
riod. Hemiplegia  is  much  more  rarely  produced  by  a  tumor. 
It  then  generally  comes  on  slowly,  the  paralysis  gradually  in- 
creasing as  the  neoplasm  encroaches  more  and  more  upon  the 
motor  tracts,  though  the  tumor  may  be  complicated  by  the 
occurrence  of  a  hemorrhage  and  a  sudden  hemiplegia.  A  grad- 
ual hemiplegia  may  also  be  produced  by  an  abscess  or  chronic 
softening  of  the  brain-substance.  Other  conditions  or  symp- 
toms presented  will  in  such  a  case  assist  us  to  diagnose  the 
nature  of  the  lesion. 

CEREBRO-SPINAL  FLUID. 

To  satisfy  the  mind  of  a  philosopher  who  is  capable  of  know- 
ing truth,  you  must  come  at  him  outside  of  the  limits  of  con- 
jecture, and  address  him  only  with  self-evident  facts.  When 
he  takes  up  the  philosophy  of  the  great  subject  of  life,  no  sub- 
stitute can  satisfy  his  mental  demands.  The  one  who  would 
deal  in  conjectures  or  "supposed  sos"  should  be  placed  hi  the 
proper  category  to  which  he  belongs,  which  is  the  driftwood 


44  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

that  floats  down  the  dark  river  overshadowed  by  the  night- 
mare of  doubt  and  superstition.  The  seeker  for  truth  is  a  man 
of  few  words,  and  they  are  used  by  him  only  to  show  the 
truths  or  facts  he  has  discovered.  He  has  no  patience  with 
the  unmeaning  records  only  offered  to  please  the  credulous 
and  which  are  of  little  or  no  value,  being  nothing  but  long 
recitations  of  ungrounded  statements.  We  will  take  man 
when  formed.  When  we  use  the  word  "formed,"  we  mean 
the  whole  building  complete,  with  all  organs,  nerves,  vessels, 
and  every  minutiae  in  form  and  material  found  or  used  in  life. 
We  look  at  the  body  in  health  as  meaning  perfection  and 
harmony,  not  in  one  part,  but  as  the  whole.  So  far  we  are  only 
filled  with  love,  wonder,  and  admiration.  Another  period  of 
observation  appears  to  the  philosopher.  We  find  partial  or 
universal  discord  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  in  action  and 
death.  Then  the  book  of  "whys"  is  opened  and  displays  its 
leaves,  calling  for  mental  labor  even  to  the  degree  of  agony,  to 
seek  the  cause  or  causes  that  produce  failure  of  a  limb  insensation, 
motion,  nutrition,  voluntary  and  involuntary  functional  activ- 
ities. Our  mind  will  explore  the  bone,  the  ligament,  the  mus- 
cle, the  fascia,  the  channels  through  which  the  blood  travels 
from  the  heart  to  local  destination,  with  lymphatics  and  their 
contents,  the  nerves,  the  blood-vessels  and  every  channel 
through  or  over  which  all  substances  are  transmitted  all  over 
the  body,  particularly  the  disabled  limb  in  question.  It  ob- 
tains blood  abundantly  from  the  heart.  We  continue  our 
investigation,  but  the  results  obtained  are  not  satisfactory, 
and  another  leaf  is  opened  and  the  question  appears,  Why  and 
where  is  the  mystery,  what  quality  and  element  of  force  and 
vitality  has  been  withheld?  A  thought  strikes  him  that  the 
cerebro-spinal  fluid  is  one  of  the  highest  known  elements  that  are 
contained  in  the  body,  and  unless  the  brain  furnishes  this  fluid 
in  abundance,  a  disabled  condition  of  the  body  will  remain.  He 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  45 

who  is  able  to  reason  will  see  that  this  great  river  of  life  must 
be  tapped  and  the  withering  field  irrigated  at  once,  or  the 
harvest  of  health  be  forever  lost. 

THE  SPINAL  CORD. 

I  want  to  offer  you  facts — not  advice  only,  but  pure  and 
well-sustained  facts,  the  only  witnesses  that  ever  enter  the 
courts  of  truth.  A  spinal  cord  is  a  fact ;  you  see  it — thus  a  fact. 
That  which  you  can  see,  hear,  feel,  smell,  or  taste  is  a  fact,  and 
the  knowledge  of  the  ability  of  any  one  fact  to  accomplish  any 
one  thing,  how  it  accomplishes  it,  and  for  what  purpose,  is  a 
truth  sought  for  in  philosophy.  The  spinal  cord  is  the  present 
fact  for  consideration.  You  see  it,  you  feel  it,  and  thus  you 
have  two  facts  with  which  you  can  start  to  obtain  a  knowledge 
of  the  use  of  this  cord.  In  it  you  have  one  common,  straight 
cylinder,  which  is  filled  with  an  unknown  substance,  and  by  an 
unknown  power  wisely  directed.  It  is  wisely  formed,  located, 
and  protected.  It  throws  off  branches  which  are  wisely  ar- 
ranged. They  have  bundles,  many  and  few.  They  are  con- 
nected to  their  support,  which  is  the  brain,  by  a  continuous  cord. 
After  it  has  concluded  throwing  off  branches  at  local  places  for 
special  purposes,  then  like  a  flashlight  it  throws  off  a  bundle 
of  branches,  called  the  "horse-tail  plexus, "  caudaz  equinaz,  that 
conveys  fluids  and  influences  to  the  extremities  to  execute  the 
vital  work  for  which  they  are  formed.  While  the  laws  of  life 
and  the  procedure  of  nerves  in  executing  and  accomplish- 
ing the  work  designed  by  Nature  for  them  to  do  is  mysterious, 
And  to  the  finite  mind  incomprehensible,  you  can  only  see  what 
they  do  or  perform  after  the  work  is  done  and  ready  for 
inspection. 

As  we  are  dealing  with  the  omnipresent  nerve-principle  of 
animal  life,  I  will  tell  you  this  one  serious  truth,  and  support  it 
by  the  fact  of  observation.  To  treat  the  spine  more  than  once 


46  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

or  twice  a  week,  and  thereby  irritate  the  spinal  cord,  will  cause 
the  vital  assimilation  to  be  perverted  and  become  the  death- 
producing  executor  by  effecting  an  abortion  of  the  living  mole- 
cules of  life  before  they  are  fully  matured  and  while  they  are 
in  the  cellular  system,  lying  immediately  under  the  lymphatics. 
If  you  will  allow  yourself  to  think  for  a  moment,  or  think  at 
all  of  the  possible  irritation  of  the  spinal  cord,  and  what  effect 
it  will  have  on  the  uterus,  for  example,  you  will  realize  that  I 
have  told  you  a  truth,  and  that  I  have  produced  an  array 
of  facts  to  stand  by  that  truth.  Many  of  your  patients  are 
well  six  months  before  they  are  discharged.  They  continue 
treatments,  because  they  are  weak,  and  they  are  weak  because 
you  keep  them  so  by  irritating  the  spinal  cord.  Throw  off  your 
goggles  and  receive  the  rays  of  sunlight  which  forever  stand  in 
the  bosom  of  Reason. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  chapters  of  this  book,  be- 
cause at  this  point  we  turn  over  the  engine  of  life  to  you  as  an 
engineer,  and  you  are  expected  to  wisely  conduct  it  on  its  jour- 
ney. Your  responsibility  here  is  doubled.  Your  first  position  is 
that  of  a  master  draftsman  who  is  capable  of  drawing  plans  and 
specifications  whereby  the  engineer  may  know  what  the  well- 
constructed  machine  is  in  every  particular.  He  knows  the  parts 
and  their  relations  as  conductor  and  operator,  and  you  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  foreman  in  the  shop  of  repairs.  The  living  per- 
son is  now  the  engine,  Nature  the  engineer,  and  you  the  master 
mechanic.  This  being  your  position,  it  is  expected  that  you 
will  carefully  inspect  all  parts  of  the  engines  brought  to  your  re- 
pair shop,  note  all  variations  from  the  normal,  and  adjust  them 
as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  conditions  of  the  perfect  model 
that  stands  in  your  mental  shop. 

At  this  point  it  will  be  well  to  suppose  a  case  by  way  of 
illustration.  Suppose  by  some  accident  the  bones  of  the  neck 
should  be  thrown  at  variance  from  the  normal  by  a  bend  or  twist. 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  47 

We  may  then  expect  inharmony  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
to  the  head  and  face,  and  to  all  the  organs  and  glands  above 
the  neck.  We  will  find  imperfect  supply  of  blood  and  other 
fluids  to  the  head.  We  may  also  expect  swelling  of  the  head 
and  face,  with  local  or  general  misery.  You  would  have  a  cause 
for  headache,  dizziness,  blindness,  enlarged  tonsils,  sore  tongue, 
loss  of  sight,  hearing,  and  memory,  and  on  through  the  list  of 
head  diseases,  all  on  account  of  the  perverted  circulation  of  the 
fluids.  It  is  equally  important  to  have  perfect  drainage  from 
the  parts,  for  without  it  the  good  results  cannot  be  expected  to 
follow  your  efforts  to  relieve  diseases  above  the  neck. 

WHAT  ARE  NERVES? 

Nerves  are  the  children  and  associates  of  one  mother — the 
heart.  She,  the  heart,  is  the  wise  form-giving  power  of  life. 
She  is  life  centralized  for  the  use  of  each  and  all  animals. 
All  beings  are  simply  constructed  through  the  wisdom  in  the 
vital  energy  contained  in  this  mother's  power.  She  plans  and 
builds  according  to  the  forms  necessary  to  execute  the  orders 
of  her  dictators.  She  is  the  mother,  nerve,  and  soul  of  all  nerves 
pertaining  to  this  body.  She  orders,  constructs,  and  repairs, 
and  continues  in  constructing  her  work  to  absolute  complete- 
ness. She  is  a  graduate  from  the  school  of  the  Infinite,  and 
her  works  are  expected  to  show  perfection  in  forethought, 
and  are  to  be  inspected,  passed  upon,  received,  or  rejected 
by  the  scrutinizing  mind  of  the  Infinite,  whose  orders  are  very 
positive,  always  holding  before  her  mind  the  penalty  of  torture 
and  death  for  failing  to  do  all  her  work  to  the  fullest  degree  of 
physical  perfection.  The  first  command  of  the  Infinite  is  for 
her  to  be  at  her  post,  to  keep  the  picture  of  the  plans  forever  be- 
fore her  eye.  Before  she  makes  a  motion  to  construct  a  fiber 
of  flesh  to  cover  her  nakedness,  she  must  open  both  eyes,  and 
scrutinize  and  inspect  carefully  every  fiber  that  enters  into  the 


48  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

material  house  known  as  the  physical  heart.  First  is  formed 
the  material  heart,  in  which  the  spiritual  establishes  an  office 
in  which  to  dwell  and  oversee  and  enforce  the  requirements  of 
the  specifications  for  constructing  the  human  body  or  that  of 
any  animal,  fish,  reptile,  or  bird.  Having  established  the  of- 
fice of  life  hi  which  the  plans  and  specifications  stand  in  bold  re- 
lief, she  receives  from  her  superior  officer  an  order  to  prepare  a 
laboratory  in  which  the  necessary  material  is  prepared  to  enter 
fnto  the  construction  of  this  divinely  formed  being.  She  runs 
or  constructs  a  branch  road  of  transportation  to  and  from  that 
manufactory,  which  is  located  at  the  proper  distance  from  her 
office  to  give  it  plenty  of  room  to  carry  on  the  business  of  man- 
ufacturing. She  calls  this,  when  done,  the  abdominal  work- 
shop. In  order  not  to  be  disturbed,  she  sends  out  her  foreman 
with  instructions  to  build  a  fence  or  wall  around  herself,  and 
calls  that  wall  the  pericardium.  Outside  of  that  are  other  sep- 
arating walls,  with  attachments.  At  this  important  moment 
she  reads  in  the  specifications  that  she  is  expected  to  run  out  the 
necessary  tracks  for  the  construction  of  a  storage  battery,  the 
brain,  with  the  grand  trunk  line,  the  spinal  cord,  and  connect 
that  battery  with  her  office,  the  grand  central,  with  wires,  the 
nerves.  As  she  advances  with  the  plans  and  specifications,  she 
makes  other  connections  and  constructs  lungs,  liver,  spleen,  pan- 
creas, kidneys,  bladder,  genital  organs,  limbs  of  locomotion,  the 
framework  and  the  finished  house,  the  thorax  and  abdomen. 
She  patiently  continues  the  performance  of  making  all  conven- 
iences necessary  for  the  comfort  of  the  indweller,  the  spiritual 
being.  Thus  we  find  the  heart  to  be  the  mother  of  all  the  nerves 
of  the  human  body,  of  all  its  parts  and  principles  known  in  vi- 
tal action.  From  her  vital  chamber  she  delivers  vitality  to  all 
forms,  fibers,  and  functioning  substances  of  life  and  motion. 
All  parts  of  the  body  are  wholly  dependent  on  this  vital  center, 
and  it  can  move  and  act  without  the  assistance  of  any  machine 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF   THE  BODY,  49 

or  part  of  the  machine  to  which  she  has  given  form  and  life.  She 
charges  one  set  of  fibers  with  vitality,  and  we  call  them  nerves 
of  sensation ;  she  charges  another  set  we  call  nerves  of  nutrition, 
and  another  set  of  wires  we  call  nerves  of  motion.  They  have 
no  motion,  no  sensation,  no  nutriment ;  they  are  simply  roads  for 
the  convenience  of  executing  the  orders  as  found  in  the  plans 
and  specifications  of  life. 

My  object  in  the  foregoing  description  of  the  heart  is  to 
draw  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  another  thought  that  I  will 
present  as  well  as  I  can.  We  can  all  comprehend  that  the  heart 
is  the  engine  of  blood-force  and  supply.  With  this  statement 
I  will  ask  the  question,  Would  the  severing  of  a  nerve  produce 
paralysis  of  a  limb  or  any  division  of  the  body,  or  would  it  be  the 
tearing  up  of  the  road  between  the  limb  and  the  heart?  It  is 
true  enough  that  the  brachial  nerve  reaches  the  brain  from  the 
arm.  If  that  nerve  has  been  severed  and  motion  destroyed, 
has  it  not  separated  the  limb  from  the  =torage  battery,  the  brain, 
from  whence  it  was  supplied?  To  Illustrate  this  thought  more 
forcibly,  I  will  compare  the  heart  to  a  tree  whose  fruit  is  good 
to  eat,  nice  to  behold,  fine  in  flavor,  and  surely  a  child  of  the 
mother  tree.  The  wood,  the  leaf,  and  the  coloring  matter  of 
the  leaf,  limb,  and  fruit  are  simply  physical  expressions  of  the 
power  of  the  mother  tree  to  create  variations  in  the  several 
divisions  of  the  tree.  What  evidence  have  we,  that  is  abso- 
lute and  undebatable,  that  all  'physical  forces  of  the  body  are 
not  conceived,  developed,  and  issued  from  the  heart?  We  speak 
of  sensory  nerves,  nutrient  nerves,  motor  nerves,  voluntary  and 
involuntary  nerves,  and  to  some  degree  we  have  described  their 
special  locations.  By  the  knife  and  microscope  we  have  found 
that  all  systems  of  nerves  have  one  universal  connection.  We 
have  found  nothing  that  would  warrant  us  in  saying  that  the 
brain  has  any  power  to  create  nerve-fluid  or  force.  We  can  talk 
about  the  brain  of  the  head,  the  abdominal  brain,  the  brain  of 


50  PHIIX)SOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

the  liver,  and  go  on  with  such  speculative  divisions  and  find  a 
new  brain  in  every  ganglion  of  the  body,  but  we  have  only  found 
storage  batteries  from  the  heart  that  are  new  to  our  observa- 
tion. We  find  one  cluster  in  the  lungs,  one  in  the  brain,  one  in 
the  stomach  and  bowels,  one  at  the  kidneys,  uterus,  bladder, 
spine,  and  limbs,  but  all  sing  "Sweet  Home"  to  Mother  Heart 
when  peace  and  harmony  prevail,  and  cry  with  anguish  when 
she  fails  to  communicate  the  glad  tidings  of  health,  peace, 
plenty,  and  harmony.  Thus  joy  is  perpetual  when  the  watch- 
man cries,  "All  is  well." 

NERVE-  POWERS. 

If  we  make  a  classification  of  nerve-forces,  we  will  count 
five  nerve-powers.  They  must  all  be  present  to  build  a  part, 
and  must  answer  promptly  at  roll-call,  and  work  all  the  time. 
The  names  of  these  master  workmen  are  Sensation,  Motion,  Nu- 
trition, Voluntary,  and  Involuntary.  All  must  answer  at  every 
roll-call  during  life ;  none  can  be  granted  a  leave  of  absence  for 
a  moment.  Suppose  Sensation  should  leave  a  limb  for  a  time, 
have  we  not  a  giving  away  there  of  all  cells  and  glands?  A  fill- 
ing up  follows  quickly,  because  Sensation  limits  and  tells  when 
the  supply  is  too  great  for  the  use  of  the  builder's  purpose.  Sup- 
pose the  nerve-power  known  as  Motion  should  fail  for  a  time ; 
starvation  would  soon  begin  its  deadly  work  for  want  of  food. 

Suppose,  again,  the  nerves  of  nutrition  should  fail  to  apply 
the  nourishing  showers ;  we  would  surely  die  in  sight  of  food. 
With  the  voluntary  nerves  we  move  or  stay  at  will.  At  this 
time  I  will  stop  defining  the  several  and  varied  uses  of  the  five 
kinds  of  nerves,  and  begin  to  account  for  growths  and  other  va- 
riations, from  the  healthy  to  the  unhealthy  conditions  of  man. 
The  above-named  nerve-forces  are  the  five  known  powers  of 
animal  life,  and  to  direct  them  wisely  is  the  work  of  the  doctor 
of  osteopathy. 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY,  51 

The  osteopath  has  five  witnesses  to  examine  in  all  cases  he 
has  under  his  care.  He  must  give  close  attention  to  the  source 
and  supply  of  healthy  blood.  If  blood  is  too  scant,  he  must 
look  to  the  motor  systems  of  blood-making.  That  would  sure- 
ly invite  his  most  careful  attention  and  study  to  the  abdomen. 
He  cannot  expect  blood  to  quietly  pass  through  the  diaphragm 
if  it  is  impeded  by  muscular  constrictions  around  the  aorta,vena 
cava,  or  thoracic  duct.  The  diaphragm  is  often  pulled  down 
on  both  the  vena  cava  and  thoracic  duct,  obstructing  blood  and 
chyle  from  returning  to  the  heart,  so  that  it  reduces  the  amount 
of  the  chyle  below  the  requirement  of  healthy  blood,  or  even 
suppresses  the  nerve-action  of  lymphatics  to  a  degree  causing 
dropsy  of  the  abdomen,  or  a  stoppage  of  venous  blood  by  press- 
ure on  the  vena  cava  so  long  that  venous  blood  is  in  stages  of  fer- 
ment when  it  enters  the  heart  for  renovation,  and  when  purified 
and  returned,  the  supply  is  too  small  to  sustain  life  to  a  normal 
standard. 

Careful  attention  to  the  normal  position  of  all  the  ribs  to 
which  the  diaphragm  is  attached  is  essential.  The  eleventh 
and  twelfth  ribs  are  often  pushed  so  far  from  their  normal  bear- 
ings that  they  are  found  turned  in  a  line  with  the  spine,  with 
cartilaginous  ends  down  near  the  ilio-lumbar  articulation. 
When  in  such  a  position,  they  draw  the  diaphragm  down  heav- 
ily on  to  the  vena  cava  at  about  the  fourth  lumbar.  Then  you 
have  a  cause  for  an  intermittent  pulse,  as  the  heart  finds  poor 
passage  for  blood  through  the  prolapsed  diaphragm,  which  is  also 
stopping  the  vena  cava  and  producing  universal  stagnation  of 
blood  and  other  fluids  in  all  the  organs  and  glands  below  the 
diaphragm. 

THREE  CONDITIONS  OP  THE  BLOOD-CORPUSCLES. 

In  this  school  of  philosophy  we  are  led  to  consider  the  fas- 
cia and  three  conditions  of  the  blood-corpuscles.  By  the  per- 
fectly healthy  corpuscle  all  constructed  perfection  of  the  body 


52  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

is  produced.  Perfect  health  is  the  natural  result  of  pure  blood. 
By  it  no  deformities  are  constructed.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
may  have  diseased  or  wounded  corpuscles,  which,  when  depos- 
ited in  the  mucous  membrane  by  the  conductors  from  the  fas- 
cia, congregate  and  produce  abnormal  growths,  such  as  fibroid 
tumors,  cancers,  and  all  abnormal  conditions  of  flesh  growths. 
Having  had  the  perfection  of  the  first  stage  or  healthy  corpus- 
cle, a  biogenic  life  still  exists  in  the  wounded  corpuscles.  When 
these  semi-normal  corpuscles  appear  on  the  mucous  membrane, 
they  produce  forms  that  are  known  by  the  name  of  microbes. 
They  are  natural  to  the  body  and  come  from  the  fascia,  and  in 
the  condition  of  diminished  health  or  vitality  they  are  mistaken 
for  foreign  bodies,  but  they  have  not  been  added  to  the  system 
from  the  outside.  Thus  we  say  membraneous  croup  microbes, 
diphtheria  microbes,  and  so  on.  They  are  carried  to  the  mucous 
membrane  in  this  semi-vital  condition  of  biogenic  life,  and, 
with  their  affinity  for  one  another,  congregate  upon  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  trachea,  mouth,  or  throat  generally. 

Now  we  will  consider  the  third  and  last  corpuscle,  or  the 
dead  corpuscle.  When  it  leaves  the  fascia  from  any  part  of  the 
system  and  arrives  in  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  lungs,  it  is 
simply  dropped  out  into  the  lung-cells  as  dead  matter,  and  we 
have  consumption  and  all  other  wasting  diseases  of  the  lungs. 
We  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  thus  far  we  have  been  speak- 
ing of  the  lymphatics  of  the  fascia.  We  can  account  by  this 
philosophy  for  the  cause  of  cancer  and  other  growths,  which  will 
be  mentioned  as  we  proceed  with  the  subject  of  disease  and 
cause.  We  will  be  more  elaborate  as  we  take  up  and  describe 
the  diseases  that  come  from  the  blood  confounded  in  the  fascia, 
artery,  muscle,  vein,  or  the  nervous  systems.  Through  the 
three  conditions  of  the  blood  while  in  the  fascia  we  can  reason- 
ably account  for  effects,  such  as  good  health,  or  abnormal 
growths  and  physical  wastes.  At  this  time  we  wish  to  call  your 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OP  THE  BODY.  53 

attention  to  the  electrical  disturbance  of  nerve-fibers  as  they 
cross  one  another  and  produce  another  manifestation  known 
as  fever  heat,  or  lower  temperature. 

FLUIDS  of  THE  BODY. 

If  a  thousand  kinds  of  fluids  exist  in  our  bodies,  a  thousand 
uses  require  them,  or  they  would  not  appear.  To  know  how  and 
why  they  exist  in  the  economy  of  life  is  the  study  of  the  man 
who  acts  only  when  he  knows  at  what  places  each  must  appear 
and  fill  the  part  and  use  for  which  it  is  designed.  If  the  demand 
for  a  substance  is  absolute,  its  chance  to  act  and  answer  that  call 
and  obey  the  command  must  not  be  hindered  while  in  prepara- 
tion, nor  on  its  journey  to  its  destination,  for  upon  its  power  all 
action  may  depend.  Blood,  albumen,  gall,  acids,  alkalies,  oils, 
brain-fluid,  and  other  substances,  formed  by  associations  while 
in  physiological  processes  of  formation,  must  be  on  time,  in  place, 
and  measured  abundantly,  that  the  biogenic  laws  of  Nature  can 
have  full  power  and  time  to  act.  Thus  all  things  else  may  be  in 
place  and  in  ample  quantities  and  yet  fail,  because  the  power  is 
withheld  and  there  is  no  action  for  want  of  brain-fluids  with 
their  power  to  vivify  all  animated  nature.  We  can  do  no  more 
than  to  feed  and  trust  the  laws  of  life  as  Nature  gives  them  to 
man.  We  must  arrange  our  bodies  in  such  true  lines  that  ample 
Nature  can  select  and  associate,  by  its  definite  measures  and 
weights  and  its  keen  power  of  choice  of  kinds,  that  which  can 
make  all  the  fluids  needed  for  our  bodily  uses,  from  the  crude 
blood  to  the  active  flames  of  life,  as  they  are  seen  when  mar- 
shalled for  duty,  obeying  the  edicts  of  the  mind  of  the  Infinite. 

BLOOD. 

Blood  is  an  unknown  red  or  black  fluid,  found  inside  of  the 
human  body,  in  tubes,  channels,  or  tunnels.  What  it  is,  how  it 
is  made,  and  what  it  does  in  the  arteries  after  it  leaves  the  heart, 
before  it  returns  to  the  heart  through  the  veins,  is  one  of  the 


54  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

mysteries  of  animal  life.  We  have  tried  to  analyze  it,  to  discover 
of  what  it  is  composed,  and  when  done  we  know  but  little  more 
of  what  it  really  is  than  we  know  of  what  sulphur  is  made.  We 
know  it  is  a  colored  fluid,  and  it  is  in  all  parts  of  flesh  and  bone. 
We  know  it  builds  up  flesh,  but  "How?"  is  the  question  that 
leads  us  to  honor  the  unknowable  law  of  life,  by  which  the  work 
of  mysterious  construction  of  all  forms  found  in  the  parts  of 
man  is  done.  In  all  our  efforts  to  learn  what  it  is,  what  it  is  made 
of,  and  what  enters  it  as  life  and  gives  it  the  building  powers 
with  the  intelligence  it  displays  in  building  that  we  see  in  daily 
observation,  is  to  us  such  an  incomprehensible  wonder  that  with 
the  "sacred  writers"  we  are  constrained  to  say,  "Great  is  the 
mystery  of  Godliness. ' '  I  dislike  to  say  that  we  know  very  lit- 
tle about  the  blood — in  fact,  nothing  at  all;  but  such  is  the  truth. 
We  cannot  make  one  drop  of  blood,  because  of  our  ignorance  of 
the  laws  of  its  production.  If  we  knew  what  its  component 
parts  were  and  their  combination,  we  would  soon  have  large  ma- 
chinery manufacturing  blood,  and  have  it  for  sale  in  quantities 
to  suit  the  purchaser.  But  alas !  with  all  the  combined  intelli- 
gence of  man,  we  cannot  make  one  drop  of  blood,  because  we 
do  not  know  what  it  is.  Then,  as  its  production  is  by  the  skill 
of  a  foreigner  whose  education  has  grown  to  suit  the  work,  we 
must  silently  sit  by  and  willingly  receive  the  work  when  hand- 
ed out  to  us  for  use  by  the  producer.  At  this  point  I  will  say 
that  an  intelligent  osteopath  is  willing  to  be  governed  by  the 
immutable  laws  of  Nature,  and  feels  that  he  is  justified  to  pass 
the  fluid  on  from  place  to  place  and  trust  results. 

When  Harvey  solved  by  his  powers  of  reason  a  knowledge 
of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  he  only  reached  the  banks  of  the 
river  of  life.  He  saw  that  the  heads  and  mouths  of  the  rivers  of 
blood  begin  and  end  in  the  heart  to  do  the  mysterious  works  of 
constructing  man.  Then  he  went  into  camp  and  left  this  com- 
pound for  other  minds]  to  speculate  on — how  it  was  made,  of 


SOME   SUBSTANCES  OF   THE  BODY.  55 

what  composed,  and  how  it  became  a  medium  of  life  which  sus- 
tains all  beings.  He  saw  the  genius  of  Nature  had  written 
its  wisdom  and  will  of  life,  by  the  red  ink  of  all  truth. 

Blood  is  systematically  furnished  from  the  heart  to  all  di- 
visions of  our  bodies.  When  we  go  any  course  from  the  heart, 
we  will  find  one  or  more  arteries  leaving  the  heart.  If  we  go  to- 
ward the  head,  we  find  carotid,  cervical,  and  vertebral  arteries 
in  pairs,  large  enough  to  supply  blood  abundantly  for  bone, 
brain,  and  muscle.  That  blood  builds  the  brain,  the  bone, 
nerves,  muscles,  glands,  membranes,  fascia,  and  skin.  Then  we 
see  wisdom  just  as  much  in  the  venous  system  as  in  the  arterial. 
The  arteries  supply  all  demands,  and  the  veins  carry  away  all 
waste  material.  We  find  building  and  healthy  renovation 
are  united  in  a  perpetual  effort  to  construct  and  sustain  purity. 
In  these  two  are  the  facts  and  truths  of  life  and  health.  If  we 
go  to  any  other  part  or  organ  of  the  body,  we  find  just  the  same 
law  of  supply,  arteries  first,  then  renovation,  beginning  with  the 
veins.  The  rule  of  artery  and  vein  is  universal  in  all  living  be- 
ings, and  the  osteopath  must  know  that  and  abide  by  its  rulings, 
or  he  will  not  succeed  as  a  healer.  Place  him  in  open  combat 
with  fevers  of  winter  or  summer  and  he  saves  or  loses  his  patients 
just  in  proportion  to  his  ability  to  sustain  the  arteries  to  feed  and 
the  veins  to  purify  by  taking  away  the  dead  substances  before 
they  ferment  in  the  lymphatics  and  cellular  system.  He  shows 
stupidity  and  ignorance  of  support  from  arteries  and  the  purify- 
ing powers  as  carried  along  through  the  veins  when  he  fails  to 
cure  erysipelas,  flux,  pneumonia,  croup,  scarlet  fever,  diphtheria, 
measles,  mumps,  rheumatism,  and  on  to  all  diseases  of  climate 
and  seasons 

It  is  ignorance  of  and  inattention  to  the  arteries  to  supply 
and  the  veins  to  carry  away  deposits  that  lead  to  the  forma- 
tion of  tumors  in  lungs,  abdomen,  or  any  part  of  the  system. 
Man's  ignorance  of  how  and  why  the  blood  renovates  and  why 


56  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

tumors  are  formed  has  allowed  the  knife  to  be  found  in  the  belts 
of  so  many  doctors  to-day.  On  this  law  osteopathy  has  suc- 
cessfully stood  and  cured  more  than  any  school  of  cures,  and 
has  sustained  all  its  diplomates,  financially  and  otherwise.  I 
write  this  article  on  blood  for  the  student  of  osteopathy.  I 
want  him  to  put  Nature  to  a  test  of  its  merit,  and  know  if  it  is 
a  law  equal  to  all  demands.  If  not,  he  is  very  much  and  seri- 
ously limited  when  he  goes  into  war  with  diseases. 

DISEASE  DEFINED. 

When  we  use  the  word  "disease,"  we  mean  anything  that 
makes  an  unnatural  showing  in  the  body — overgrowth  of  mus- 
cle, gland,  organ,  physical  pain,  numbness,  heat,  cold,  or  any- 
thing that  we  find  not  necessary  to  life  and  comfort.  I  have 
no  wish  to  rob  surgery  of  its  useful  claims,  and  its  scientific  mer- 
its to  suffering  man  and  beast.  My  object  is  to  place  the  oste- 
opath's eye  of  reason  on  the  hunt  of  the  great  "whys"  that  the 
knife  is  useful  at  all.  It  comes  in  often  to  remove  growths  and 
diseased  flesh  and  bone  that  have  formed  owing  to  man's  igno- 
rance of  a  few  great  truths.  If  blood  is  allowed  to  be  taken  to  a 
gland  or  organ,  and  not  taken  away  in  due  time,  the  accumu- 
lation will  become  bulky  enough  to  stop  the  excretory  nerves 
and  cause  local  paralysis.  Then  the  nutrient  nerves  proceed 
to  construct  tumors,  and  on  and  on  until  there  is  no  relief  but 
the  knife  or  death.  Had  this  blood  not  been  conveyed  there, 
it  would  not  be  there  at  all,  either  in  bulk  or  less  quantities. 
Had  it  simply  done  its  work  and  passed  on,  we  would  have 
had  no  material  to  develop  such  abnormal  beings.  If  a  tume- 
faction appears  in  one  side  and  not  in  the  other,  why  is  it  on 
one  side  and  not  on  the  other?  It  takes  no  great  effort  of  mind 
to  see  that  the  veins  did  not  receive  and  carry  off  the  blood, 
and  a  growth  was  natural,  as  the  conditions  would  not  permit 
anything  else  and  be  true  to  Nature.  Thus  man's  ignorance 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OP  THE  BODY.  57 

has  made  a  condition  for  the  knife.  Had  he  taken  the  hint  and 
let  the  blood  pass  on  when  its  work  was  done,  he  would  not  have 
had  to  witness  the  guillotine  taking  his  patients,  whose  early 
pains  told  him  a  renal  vein  or  some  vessel  below  the  diaphragm 
was  ligated  by  an  impacted  colon,  or  that  a  few  ribs  were  pull- 
ing and  bringing  the  diaphragm  down  across  the  vena  cava  and 
thoracic  duct,  causing  excitement  or  paralysis  of  the  solar 
plexus,  or  any  other  nerves  that  pass  through  the  diaphragm, 
through  which  also  passes  blood  to  and  from  the  heart  and 
lungs. 

How  to  find  causes  of  diseases  or  where  a  hindrance  is  lo- 
cated that  stops  blood  is  a  great  mental  worry  to  the  osteopath 
when  he  is  called  to  treat  a  patient.  The  patient  tells  a  doctor 
"where  he  hurts,"  how  much  "he  hurts,"  how  long  "he  has 
hurt, ' '  how  hot  or  cold  he  is.  The  medical  practitioner  then 
puts  this  symptom  and  that  symptom  in  a  column,  adds 
them  up  according  to  the  latest  books  on  symptomatology,  and 
finally  he  is  able  to  guess  at  a  name  by  which  to  call  the  disease. 
Then  he  proceeds  and  treats  as  his  pap's  father  heard  his 
granny  say  their  old  family  doctor  treated  "them  sort  of  diseases 
in  North  Carolina."  An  osteopath,  in  his  search  for  the  cause  of 
diseases,  starts  out  to  find  the  mechanical  cause.  He  feels  that 
the  people  expect  more  than  guessing  of  an  osteopath.  He  feels 
that  he  must  put  his  hand  on  the  cause  and  prove  what  he  says 
by  what  he  does ;  that  he  will  not  get  off  by  the  feeble-minded 
trash  of  stale  habits  that  go  with  doctors  of  medicine.  By  his 
knowledge  he  must  show  his  ability  to  go  beyond  the  musty 
bread  of  symptomatology. 

An  osteopath  should  be  a  clear-headed,  sober,  conscientious, 
truth-loving  man,  and  never  speak  until  he  knows  he  has  found 
and  can  demonstrate  the  truth  he  claims  to  know.  I  partially 
understand  anatomy  and  physiology  after  fifty  years  of  close 
attention  to  the  subject.  The  last  twenty  years  have  been  spent 


58  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP   OSTEOPATHY. 

in  giving  close  attention  to  what  has  been  said  by  all  the  best 
writers,  many  of  whom  are  considered  standard  guides  for  the 
student  and  practitioner.  I  have  dissected  and  witnessed  the 
work  of  the  very  best  anatomists  in  the  world.  I  have  followed 
the  knife  through  the  whole  distribution  of  the'  blood  of  arterial 
systems  to  the  great  and  small  vessels,  until  the  lenses  of  the 
most  powerful  microscopes  seemed  to  exhaust  their  ability 
to  perceive  the  termination  of  the  artery.  With  the  same  care 
I  have  followed  the  knife  and  microscope  from  the  nerve-center 
to  terminals  of  the  large  to  the  infinitely  small  fibers  around 
which  those  fine  nerve-vines  entwine,  first,  like  the  bean,  entwin- 
ing by  way  of  the  right,  and  then,  turning  my  microscope, 
finding  the  entwining  of  another  set  of  nerves  to  the  left,  like 
the  hop.  Those  nerves  are  solid,  cylindrical,  and  stratified  in 
form,  with  many  leading  from  the  lymphatics  to  the  artery, 
and  to  the  red  and  white  muscles,  fascia,  cellular  membrane, 
striated  and  unstriated  organs,  all  connecting  to  and  traveling 
with  the  artery,  and  continuing  with  it  through  its  whole  circuit 
from  start  to  terminals. 

Like  a  thirsty  herd  of  camels,  the  whole  nervous  system,  sen- 
sory, motor,  nutrient,  voluntary,  and  involuntary,  seems  to  be 
in  sufficient  quantities  and  numbers  to  consume  all  the  blood 
and  cause  the  philosopher  to  ask  the  question,  "Is  not  the  labor 
of  the  artery  complete  when  it  has  fed  the  hungry  nerves?" 
Is  he  not  justified  in  the  conclusion  that  the  nerves  gestate  and 
send  forth  all  substances  that  are  applied  by  Nature  in  the  con- 
struction of  man?  If  this  philosophy  be  true,  then  he  who 
arms  himself  for  the  battles  of  osteopathy  when  combating  dis- 
eases has  a  guide  and  a  light  whereby  he  can  land  safely  in  port 
from  every  voyage. 

Turn  the  eye  of  reason  to  the  heart  and  observe  the  blood 
start  on  its  journey.  It  leaves  in  great  haste  and  never  stops, 
even  in  the  smaller  arteries.  It  is  always  in  motion,  and  very 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  59 

quick  and  powerful  at  all  places.  Its  motion  indicates  no  evi- 
dence of  construction  during  such  time,  but  we  can  find  in  the 
lymphatics  cells  or  pockets  in  which  motion  is  slow  enough  to 
suppose  that  in  those  cells  living  beings  can  be  formed  and 
carried  to  their  places  by  the  lymphatics  for  the  purposes  for 
which  they  are  intended,  as  bone  or  muscle.  Let  us  reason 
that  blood  has  a  great  and  universal  duty  to  perform,  if  it  con- 
structs, nourishes,  and  keeps  the  whole  nervous  system  normal 
in  form  and  function. 

As'  blood  and  other  fluids  of  life  are  ponderable  bodies  of 
different  consistencies,  and  are  moved  through  the  system  to 
construct,  purify,  vitalize,  and  furnish  power  necessary  to  keep 
the  machinery  in  action,  we  must  reason  on  the  different  powers 
necessary  to  move  those  bodies  through  arteries,  veins,  ducts, 
over  nerves,  spongy  membranes,  fascia,  muscles,  ligaments, 
glands,  and  skin,  and  judge  from  their  unequal  density,  and  ad- 
just the  force  to  meet  the  demand  according  to  kinds. 

Suppose  venous  blood  is  suspended  by  cold  or  other  causes 
in  the  lungs  to  the  amount  of  oedema  of  the  fascia ;  another  men- 
tal look  would  see  the  nerves  of  the  fascia  of  the  lungs  in.  a  high 
state  of  excitement,  cramping  fascia  onto  veins,  which  would  be 
bound  to  cause  an  interference  with  the  flow  of  blood  to  the 
heart.  No  blood  can  pass  through  a  vein  that  is  closed  by  such 
resistance,  nor  can  it  ever  do  it  until  the  resistance  is  sus- 
pended. Thus  the  cause  of  nerve-irritation  must  be  found  and 
removed  before  the  channels  can  relax  and  open  sufficiently  to 
admit  the  passage  of  the  obstructed  fluids.  In  order  to  remove 
this  obstructing  cause,  we  must  go  to  the  nerve-supply  of  the 
lungs,  or  other  parts  of  the  body,  and  direct  our  attention  to 
the  cause  of  the  nerve-excitement,  and  that  only,  and  prosecute 
the  investigation  to  a  finish.  If  the  breathing  be  too  fast  and 
hurried,  address  your  attention  to  the  motor  nerves  and  then  to 
the  sensory,  for  through  them  you  regulate  and  reduce  the  ex- 


60  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

citement  of  the  motor  nerves  of  the  arteries.  As  soon  as  sensa- 
tion is  reduced,  the  motor  and  sensory  circuit  is  completed  and 
the  labor  of  the  artery  is  less,  because  venous  resistance  has 
been  removed.  The  circuit  of  electricity  is  complete,  as  proven 
by  the  completed  arterial  and  venous  circuit  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  motor  irritation.  The  high  temperature  disappears 
because  distress  gives  place  to  the  normal,  and  recovery  is 
the  result. 

THE  FASCIA. 

I  know  of  no  part  of  the  body  that  equals  the  fascia  as  a 
hunting-ground.  I  believe  that  more  rich  golden  thoughts  will 
appear  to  the  mind's  eye  as  the  study  of  the  fascia  is  pursued 
than  of  any  other  division  of  the  body.  Still  one  part  is  just  as 
great  and  useful  as  anv  other  in  its  place.  No  part  can  be  dis- 
pensed with. 

In  every  view  we  take  of  the  fascia  a  wonder  appears.  The 
part  the  fascia  takes  in  life  and  death  gives  us  one  of  the  great- 
est problems  to  solve.  It  surrounds  each  muscle,  vein,  nerve, 
and  all  organs  of  the  body.  It  has  a  network  of  nerves,  cells, 
and  tubes  running  to  and  from  it;  it  is  crossed  and  no  doubt 
filled  with  millions  of  nerve-centers  and  fibers  which  carry  on  the 
work  of  secreting  and  excreting  fluids  vital  and  destructive. 
By  its  action  we  live  and  by  its  failure  we  die.  Each  muscle 
plays  its  part  in  active  life.  Each  fiber  of  all  muscle  owes  its 
pliability  to  that  yielding  septum-washer  that  allows  all  muscles 
to  glide  over  and  around  all  adjacent  muscles  and  ligaments 
without  friction  or  jar.  It  not  only  lubricates  the  fibers,  but 
gives  nourishment  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  Its  nerves  are  so 
abundant  that  no  atom  of  flesh  fails  to  get  nerve-  and  blood- 
supply  therefrom. 

This  life  is  surely  too  short  to  solve  the  uses  of  the  fascia 
in  animal  forms.  It  penetrates  even  its  own  finest  fibers  to  sup- 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  6l 

ply  and  assist  their  gliding  elasticity.  Turn  the  visions  of  your 
mind  to  follow  those  infinitely  fine  nerves.  You  see  the  fascia, 
and  in  your  wonder  and  surprise  you  exclaim,  "Omnipresent  in 
man  and  all  other  living  beings  of  the  land  and  sea. ' ' 

Other  great  facts  come  to  the  mind  with  joy  and  admira- 
tion as  we  see  all  the  beauties  of  life  on  exhibition  in  the  won- 
ders found  in  the  fascia.  The  soul  of  man,  with  all  the  streams 
of  pure  lining  water,  seems  to  dwell  in  the  fascia  of  his  body. 
Does  it  not  throw  hot  shot  and  shells  of  thought  into  man's  fam- 
ishing chamber  of  reason  to  feel  that  he  has  seen  in  the  fascia 
the  framework  of  life,  the  dwelling-place  in  which  life  sojourns? 
He  feels  that  he  there  can  find  all  disturbing  causes  of  life,  the 
places  in  which  diseases  germinate  and  develop  the  seeds  of 
sickness  and  death. 

As  the  student  of  anatomy  explores  the  subject  with  his 
knife  and  microscope  he  easily  finds  this  fascia  going  with 
and  covering  all  muscles,  tendons,  and  fibers,  and  separating 
them  even  to  the  least  fiber.  All  organs  have  coverings  of  this 
substance,  though  they  may  have  special  names  by  which  they 
are  designated.  I  write  at  length  of  the  universality  of  the 
fascia  to  impress  the  reader  with  the  idea  that  this  connecting 
substance  must  be  free  at  all  parts  to  receive  and  discharge  all 
fluids,  and  to  appropriate  and  use  them  in  sustaining  animal 
life,  and  eject  all  impurities,  that  health  may  not  be  impaired  by 
dead  and  poisonous  fluids.  A  knowledge  of  the  universal  ex- 
tent of  the  fascia  is  imperative,  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  aids  to 
the  person  who  seeks  the  causes  of  disease.  The  fascia  and  its 
nerves  demand  his  attention,  and  on  his  knowledge  of  them 
much  of  his  success  depends. 

Will  the  student  of  osteopathy  stop  just  a  moment  and  see 
his  medical  cotemporary  plow  the  skin  with  the  needle  of  his 
hypodermic  syringe  ?  He  drives  it  in  and  unloads  his  morphine 
and  other  poisonous  drugs  under  the  skin  into  the  very  center 


60  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  O?  OSTEOPATHY. 

of  the  nerves  of  the  superficial  fascia.  He  produces  paralysis 
of  all  the  nerves  of  the  body  by  this  method,  just  as  certainly 
as  if  he  had  put  his  poison  into  the  cerebellum,  but  in  a  manner 
not  so  certain  to  produce  instantaneous  death  as  it  would  had  it 
been  unloaded  in  the  brain.  But  if  he  is  faithfully  ignorant,  he 
will  cause  death  just  as  surely  at  one  place  as  the  other,  be- 
cause the  poisonous  effects  are  carried  along  to  every  fiber  of 
the  whole  body  by  the  nerves  and  fibers  of  the  fascia. 

When  you  deal  with  the  fascia  you  are  doing  business  with 
the  branch  offices  of  the  brain,  under  a  general  corporation  law, 
and  why  not  treat  these  branch  offices  with  the  same  degree  of 
respect?  The  doctor  of  medicine  does  effectual  work  through 
the  medium  of  the  fascia.  Why  should  not  you  relax,  contract, 
stimulate,  and  clean  the  whole  system  of  all  diseases  by  that 
willing  and  sufficient  power  you  possess  to  renovate  all  parts  of 
the  system  from  deadly  compounds  that  are  generated  on  ac- 
count of  delay  and  stagnation  of  fluids  while  in  the  fascia? 

Our  science  is  young,  but  the  laws  that  govern  life  are  as 
old  as  the  hours  of  all  ages.  You  may  find  much  that  has  never 
been  written  nor  practiced  before,  but  all  such  discoveries  are 
truths  born  with  the  birth  of  eternity,  old  as  God  and  as  true 
as  life. 

We  must  remember,  as  we  study  the  fascia,  that  it  occupies 
the  whole  body,  and  should  we  find  a  local  region  that  is  dis- 
ordered, we  can  relieve  that  part  through  the  local  plexus  of 
nerves  which  controls  that  division.  Your  attention  should 
be  directed  to  all  the  nerves  of  that  part.  Blood  must  not  be 
allowed  to  flow  to  the  part  by  wild  motion.  Its  flow  must  be 
gentle  to  suit  the  demands  of  nutrition,  otherwise  weakness 
takes  the  place  of  strength,  and  we  lose  the  benefits  of  the 
nutritive  nerves.  Suppose  the  nerves  that  supply  the  lungs 
with  motion  should  stop  acting ;  the  lungs  would  also  stop.  Sup- 
pose they  should  come  to  a  half  stop;  the  lungs  would  surely 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  63 

follow  suit.  Now  we  must  reason,  if  we  succeed  in  relieving 
lungs,  that  all  kinds  of  nerves  are  found  in  them.  The  lungs 
move,  thus  you  find  motor  nerves ;  they  have  feeling,  thus  the 
sensory  nerves;  they  grow  by  nutrition,  thus  the  nutrient 
nerves.  They  move  by  will,  or  without  it;  they  have  a  vol- 
untary and  involuntary  system. 

The  blood-supply  comes  under  the  motor  system  of  nerves, 
and  is  delivered  at  proper  places  for  the  convenience  of  the  nerves 
of  nutrition.  The  sensory  nerves  limit  the  supply  of  arterial 
blood  to  the  quantity  necessary,  as  construction  is  going  on  at 
each  successive  stroke  of  the  heart.  They  limit  the  action  of 
the  lungs,  receive  and  expel  air  in  quantities  sufficient  to  keep  up 
the  purity  of  the  blood,  etc.  With  this  foundation,  we  observe 
that  if  there  is  too  great  action  of  the  motor  nerves,  as  shown  by 
an  abnormal  increase  in  breathing,  we  are  admonished  to  reduce 
breathing  by  addressing  attention  to  the  sensory  nerves  of 
the  lungs,  in  order  that  the  blood  may  pass  through  the  veins, 
whose  irritability  has  refused  to  receive  the  blood,  further  than 
capillary  terminals.  As  soon  as  sensation  is  reduced,  relaxation 
of  nerve-fibers  of  veins  tolerates  the  passage  of  venous  blood, 
which  is  deposited  in  the  spongy  portions  of  the  lungs  in  such 
quantities  as  to  overcome  the  activity  of  the  nerves  of  renova- 
tion, an  activity  that  accompanies  the  fascia  in  its  process  of 
ejection  of  all  fluids  that  have  been  detained  an  abnormal  time, 
first  in  the  region  of  the  fascia,  then  in  the  arterial  and  venous 
circulation.  Thus  you  see  what  must  be  done.  The  veins  as 
channels  must  carry  away  all  the  blood  as  soon  as  it  has  depos- 
ited its  nutrient  supplies  to  the  places  for  which  they  were  in- 
tended ;  otherwise,  by  delay,  vitality  by  asphyxia  is  lost  to  the 
blood,  which  calls  for  a  greater  force  from  the  arterial  pumps 
to  drive  the  blood  through  the  parts,  rupturing  capillaries  and 
depositing  the  blood  in  the  mucous  membrane,  until  finally 
nerves  of  the  fascia  become  powerless  by  surrounding  pressure, 


64  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

and,  through  the  sensory  nerves,  an  irritability  sets  in  at  the 
heart,  which  is  driven  to  still  greater  efforts. 

As  life  finds  its  general  nutrient  law  in  the  fascia  and  its 
nerves,  we  must  connect  them  to  the  great  source  of  supply  by 
a  cord  running  the  length  of  the  spine,  by  which  all  nerves  are 
connected  with  the  brain.  The  cord  throws  out  millions  of 
nerves  to  all  organs  and  parts  which  are  supplied  with  the  ele- 
ments of  motion  and  sensation.  All  these  nerves  go  to  and  ter- 
minate in  that  great  system,  the  fascia. 

As  we  dip  our  cups  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  ocean  of 
thought  we  begin  to  feel  that  the  solution  of  life  and  health  is 
close  to  the  field  of  the  telescope  of  our  mental  searchlights, 
and  soon  we  will  find  the  road  to  health  so  plainly  written  that 
the  wayfaring  man  cannot  err  though  he  be  a  fool. 

Disease  is  evidently  sown  as  atoms  of  gas,  fluids,  or  solids. 
A'suitable  place  is  first  necessary  for  the  active  principle  of  the 
disease,  be  that  what  it  may.  Then  a  responsive  kind  of  nour- 
ishment must  be  obtained  by  the  being  to  be  developed.  Thus 
we  must  find  in  animals  that  part  of  the  body  which  assists  by 
action  and  by  food  in  developing  the  being  in  foetal  life.  Rea- 
son calls  the  mind  to  the  rule  of  man's  gestative  life  first,  and 
as  a  basis  of  thought  we  look  at  the  quickening  atom,  the  com- 
ing being,  when  only  by  the  aid  of  a  powerful  microscope  can 
we  see  the  vital  germ.  It  looks  like  an  atom  of  white  fibrin  or 
detached  particle  of  fascia.  It  leaves  one  parent  as  an  atom  of 
fascia,  and,  in  order  to  live  and  grow,  must  dwell  in  friendly  sur- 
roundings, and  be  fed  by  such  food  as  is  found  in  blood  and 
lymph.  The  nerve-generating  power  must  also  be  considered. 
As  the  fascia  is  the  best  equipped  with  nerves,  blood,  and  white 
corpuscles,  it  is  only  reasonable  to  expect  the  germ  to  dwell 
there  for  support  and  growth. 


SOME  SUBSTANCES   OF  THE  BODY.  65 

AN  ILLUSTRATION  OF  CONCEPTION. 

When  you  follow  the  germ  from  the  father  after  it  has  left 
his  system  of  fascia,  we  find  it  flourishing  in  the  womb,  an  organ 
which  is  almost  a  complete  being  of  itself,  the  center,  origin, 
and  mother  of  all  fascias.  It  there  dwells  and  grows  to  birth, 
and  appears  as  a  completed  being,  a  product  of  the  life-giving 
powers  of  the  fascia. 

The  fascia  is  universal  in  man,  and  stands  before  the  world 
to-day  a  great  problem.  It  carries  to  the  mind  of  the  philoso- 
pher the  evidence  absolute,  that  it  is  the  "material  man.  "  It 
is  the  fort  which  the  enemy  of  life  takes  by  conquest  through 
disease,  and,  completing  the  combat,  unfurls  the  black  flag  of 
"no  quarter."  That  enemy  is  sure  to  capture  all  the  forts 
known  as  human  beings  at  some  time,  although  the  engagement 
may  last  for  many  years.  A  delay  in  the  surrender  can  only  be 
obtained  by  giving  timely  support  to  the  supply  of  nourish- 
ment, that  powerful  life  force  that  is  bequeathed  to  man  and  all 
other  beings,  and  acts  through  the  fascia  of  man  and  beast. 

THE  LYMPHATICS. 

A  student  of  life  must  take  in  each  part  of  the  body  and 
study  its  uses  and  relations  to  other  parts  and  systems.  We 
lay  much  stress  on  the  uses  of  blood  and  the  powers  of  the  nerves, 
but  have  we  any  evidence  that  they  are  of  more  vital  import- 
ance than  the  lymphatics?  If  not,  let  us  halt  at  this  universal 
system  of  irrigation,  and  study  its  great  uses  in  sustaining  ani 
mal  life.  Where  are  the  lymphatics  situated  in  the  body? 
Where  are  they  not  found?  No  space  is  so  small  that  it  is  out 
of  connection  with  the  lymphatics,  with  their  nerves,  secre- 
tory and  excretory  ducts.  The  system  of  lymphatics  is  complete 
and  universal  in  the  whole  body.  After  beholding  the  lym- 
phatics distributed  along  all  the  nerves,  blood-channels,  mus- 
cles, glands,  and  all  the  organs  of  the  body,  from  the  brain  to 


66  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

the  soles  of  the  feet,  all  loaded  to  fullness  with  watery  liquids, 
we  certainly  can  make  but  one  conclusion  as  to  their  use,  which 
would  be  to  mingle  with  and  carry  out  all  impurities  of  the  body, 
by  first  mixing  with  the  substances  and  reducing  them  to  that 
degree  of  fineness  that  will  allow  them  to  pass  through  the 
smallest  tubes  of  the  excretory  system,  and  by  that  method 
free  the  body  from  all  deposits  of  either  solids  or  fluids,  and  leave 
nourishment. 

Possibly  less  is  known  of  the  lymphatics  than  any  other 
division  of  the  life-sustaining  machinery  of  man.  Ignorance 
of  that  division  is  often  equal  to  a  total  blank  with  the  oper- 
ator. Finer  nerves  dwell  with  the  lymphatics  than  even  with  the 
eye.  The  eye  is  an  organized  effect,  the  lymphatics  the  cause, 
and  in  them  the  principle  of  life  more  abundantly  dwells.  No 
atom  can  leave  the  lymphatics  in  an  imperfect  state  and  get  a 
union  with  any  part  of  the  body.  There  the  atom  obtains  form 
and  knowledge  of  how  and  what  to  do.  The  fluids  of  the  brain 
are  of  a  finer  order  than  any  fluids  supplying  the  whole  viscera. 
By  nature,  coarser  substances  are  necessary  to  construct  the  or- 
gans that  run  the  blast  and  rough-forging  divisions.  The  lym- 
phatics prepare,  furnish,  and  send  the  atoms  to  the  builder  that 
he  may  construct  by  adjusting  all  according  to  Nature's  plans 
and  specifications.  Nature  makes  machinery  that  can  produce 
just  what  is  necessary,  and,  when  united,  produces  what  the 
wisest  minds  would  exact. 

The  lymphatics  are  closely  and  universally  connected  with 
the  spinal  cord  and  all  other  nerves,  and  all  drink  from  the 
waters  of  the  brain.  By  the  action  of  the  nerves  of  the  lym- 
phatics, a  union  of  qualities  necessary  to  produce  gall,  sugar, 
acids,  alkalies,  bone,  muscle,  and  softer  parts,  is  brought  about  so 
that  elements  can  be  changed,  suspended,  collected,  and  asso- 
ciated and  produce  any  chemical  compound  necessary  to  sustain 
animal  life,  wash  out,  salt,  sweeten,  and  preserve  the  being  from 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  67 

decay  and  death  by  chemical,  electric,  atmospheric,  or  climatic 
conditions.  By  this  we  are  admonished  in  all  our  treatment 
not  to  wound  the  lymphatics,  as  they  are  undoubtedly  the  lif  e- 
giving  centers  and  organs,  and  it  behooves  us  to  handle  them 
with  wisdom  and  tenderness,  for  by  and  from  them  a  withered 
limb,  organ,  or  any  division  of  the  body  receives  what  we  call  a 
"reconstruction,"  or  is  builded  anew.  Without  this  cautious 
procedure,  your  patient  had  better  save  his  life  and  money  by 
passing  you  by  as  a  failure,  until  you  are  by  this  knowledge  qual- 
ified to  deal  with  the  lymphatics. 

Why  not  reason  on  the  broad  plain  of  known  facts,  and 
give  the  cause  of  a  person  having  complete  prostration.  When 
all  systems  are  cut  off  from  a  chance  to  perform  and  execute 
such  duties  as  Nature  has  allotted  to  them,  we  have  pros- 
tration. Motor  nerves  must  drive  all  substances  to  and  sensa- 
tion must  judge  the  supply  and  demand.  Nutrition  must  be 
in  action  on  time,  and  keep  all  parts  well  supplied  with  power, 
or  a  failure  is  sure  to  appear.  We  must  ever  remember  the  de- 
mands of  Nature  on  the  lymphatics,  liver,  and  kidneys.  They 
must  work  all  the  time  or  a  confusion  will  result,  and  a  defi- 
ciency in  the  performance  of  then-  duties  will  mean  a  crip- 
pling of  some  function  of  life  over  which  they  preside. 

UNIVERSALLY  DISTRIBUTED. 

Dunglison's  definition  of  the  lymphatics  is  very  extensive, 
comprehensive,  and  right  to  the  point  for  our  use  as  doctors  of 
osteopathy.  He  describes  the  lymphatic  glands  as  countless 
in  number,  universally  distributed  all  through  the  human  body, 
containing  vitalized  water  and  other  fluids  necessary  to  the  sup- 
port of  animal  life,  running  parallel  with  the  venous  system, 
and  more  abundantly  there  than  in  other  locations  of  the 
body,  at  the  same  time  discharging  their  contents  into  the  veins 
while  conveying  the  blood  back  to  the  heart  from  the  whole  sys- 


68  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

tern.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  besides  being  nutrient 
centers,  they  accumulate  and  pass  water  through  the  whole 
secretory  and  excretory  systems  of  the  body,  in  order  to  reduce 
nourishment  from  a  thick  to  a  thin  constituency,  that  it  may 
easily  pass  through  the  tubes,  ducts,  and  vessels  interested  in  the 
distribution  of  materials  as  nourishment  first,  and  renovation 
second,  through  the  excretory  ducts.  The  question  arises, 
Whence  cometh  this  water?  This  leads  us  back  to  the  lungs. 
With  a  fountain  of  life-saving  water  provided  by  Nature  to  wash 
away  impurities  as  they  accumulate  in  our  bodies,  would  it  not 
be  great  stupidity  in  us  to  see  a  human  being  burn  to  death  by 
the  fires  of  fever,  or  die  from  asphyxia  by  allowing  bad  or  dead 
lymph,  albumen,  or  any  substance  to  load  down  the  powers  of 
Nature  and  keep  the  blood  from  being  washed  to  normal  purity. 
If  so,  let  us  go  deeper  into  the  study  of  the  life-saving  powers 
of  the  lymphatics.  Do  we  not  find  in  death  that  the  lym- 
phatics are  dark,  and  in  life  they  are  healthy  and  red? 

What  we  meet  with  in  all  diseases  is  dead  blood,  stagnant 
lymph,  and  albumen  in  a  semi- vital  or  dead  and  decomposing 
condition  all  through  the  lymphatics  and  other  parts  of  the 
body,  brain,  lungs,  kidneys,  liver,  and  fascia.  The  whole  sys- 
tem is  loaded  with  a  confused  mass  of  blood  that  is  mixed  with 
unhealthy  substances  that  should  have  been  kept  washed  out 
by  lymph.  Stop  and  view  the  frog's  superficial  lymphatic 
glands.  You  see  all  parts  move  just  as  regularly  as  the  heart 
does.  They  are  all  in  motion  during  life.  For  what  purpose 
do  they  move  if  not  to  carry  the  fluids  to  sustain  the  building-up 
processes,  while  the  excretory  channels  receive  and  pass  out  all 
that  is  of  no  farther  use  to  the  body?  Now  we  see  this  great 
system  of  lymphatics  is  the  source  of  construction  and  purity. 
If  this  be  true,  we  must  keep  the  lymphatics  normal  all  the  time 
or  see  confused  Nature  in  the  form  of  disease.  We  strike  at 
the  source  of  life  and  death  when  we  go  to  the  lymphatics. 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  69 

No  part  is  so  small  or  remote  that  it  is  not  in  direct  con- 
nection with  some  part  or  chain  of  the  lymphatics.  The  doc- 
tor of  osteopathy  has  much  to  think  about  when  he  consults 
natural  remedies,  and  how  they  are  supplied  and  administered, 
and  as  disease  is  the  effect  of  tardy  deposits  in  some  or  all  parts 
of  the  body,  reason  would  bring  us  to  a  search  for  a  solvent 
of  such  deposits,  which  hinder  the  natural  motion  of  blood  and 
other  fluids  in  functional  works,  and  with  that  solvent  we  are 
to  keep  the  body  pure  from  any  substance  that  would  check  vi- 
tal action.  When  we  have  searched  and  found  that  the  lym- 
phatics are  requisite  for  the  body,  we  then  must  admit  that 
their  use  is  equal  to  the  abundant  and  universal  supply  of  all 
the  glands.  If  we  think  and  use  a  homely  phrase,  and  say  that 
disease  is  only  too  much  dirt  in  the  wheels  of  life,  then  we  will 
see  that  Nature  takes  this  method  to  wash  out  the  dirt.  As  an 
application,  pneumonia  is  too  much  dirt  in  the  wheels  of  the 
lungs.  If  so,  we  must  wash  it  out.  Nowhere  can  we  go  for  a 
better  place  for  water  than  to  the  lymphatics.  Are  they  not 
like  a  fire  company  with  nozzles  in  all  windows  ready  to  flush 
the  burning  house? 

DEFINITION  OP  THE  WORD  "TREAT." 
Here  I  want  to  emphasize  that  the  word  "treat"  has  but 
one  meaning — that  is,  to  know  you  are  right,  and  do  your  work 
accordingly.  I  will  only  hint,  and  would  feel  embarrassed  to 
go  any  further  than  to  hint  to  you  the  importance  of  an  undis- 
turbed condition  of  the  five  known  kinds  of  nerves ;  namely,  sen- 
sation, motion,  nutrition,  voluntary,  and  involuntary,  all  of 
which  you  must  endeavor  to  keep  in  perpetual  harmony  while 
treating  any  disease.  If  you  allow  yourself  to  reason  at  all, 
you  must,  know  that  sensation  must  be  normal  and  always  on 
guard  to  give  notice  by  local  or  general  misery  of  unnatural  ac- 
cumulation of  the  circulating  fluids.  Every  nerve  must  be  free 


JO  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

to  act  and  do  its  part.  Your  duty  as  a  master  mechanic  is  to 
know  that  the  engine  is  kept  in  a  perfect  condition,  so  that 
there  will  be  no  functional  disturbance  to  any  nerve,  or  vein,  or 
artery  that  supplies  and  governs  the  skin,  the  fascia,  the  muscle, 
the  blood,  or  any  fluid  that  should  be  in  free  circulation  to  sus- 
tain life  and  renovate  the  system  from  deposits  that  would 
cause  what  we  call  disease. 

Your  osteopathic  knowledge  has  surely  taught  you  that, 
with  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  nerve-  and  blood- 
supply,  you  can  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  the  hidden  cause  of  dis- 
ease, and  conduct  your  treatment  to  a  successful  termination. 
This  is  not  by  your  knowledge  of  chemistry,  but  by  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  anatomy  of  man,  and  of  what  is  normal  and  what 
abnormal,  what  is  effect  and  what  is  the  cause.  Do  you  ever 
suspect  renal  or  bladder  trouble  without  first  receiving  knowl- 
edge from  your  patient  that  there  is  soreness  and  tenderness 
in  the  region  of  the  kidneys  at  some  point  along  the  spine? 
By  this  knowledge  you  are  invited  to  explore  the  spine  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  it  is  normal  or  not.  If,  by 
your  intimate  acquaintance  with  a  normal  spine,  you  should  de- 
tect an  abnormal  form,  although  it  be  small,  you  are  then  ad- 
monished to  look  out  for  disease  of  the  kidneys,  or  bladder,  or 
both,  from  the  discovered  cause  for  disturbance  of  the  renal 
nerves  by  such  displacement,  or  some  slight  variation  from  the 
normal  in  the  articulation  of  the  spine.  If  this  is  not  worthy 
of  your  attention,  your  mind  is  surely  too  crude  to  observe  those 
fine  beginnings  that  lead  to  death.  Your  skill  would  be  of  little 
use  in  incipient  cases  of  Bright 's  disease  of  the  kidneys.  Has 
not  your  acquaintance  with  the  human  body  opened  your  mind's 
eye  to  observe  that  hi  the  laboratory  of  the  human  body  the 
most  wonderful  chemical  results  are  being  accomplished  every 
day,  minute,  and  hour  of  your  life?  Can  that  laboratory  be 
running  in  good  order  and  tolerate  the  formation  of  a  gall-  or 


SOME  SUBSTANCES  OF  THE  BODY.  71 

bladder-stone?  Does  not  the  body  generate  acids,  alkalies,  and 
all  substances  and  fluids  necessary  to  wash  out  all  impurities? 
If  you  think  an  unerring  God  has  made  all  those  necessary 
preparations,  why  not  so  assert  yourself,  and  stand  upon  that 
ground? 

You  cannot  do  otherwise,  and  not  betray  your  ignorance 
to  the  thinking  world.  If  in  the  human  body  you  can  find  the 
most  wonderful  chemical  laboratory  mind  can  conceive,  why 
not  give  more  of  your  time  to  that  subject,  in  order  that  you 
may  obtain  a  better  understanding  of  its  workings  ?  Can  you 
afford  to  treat  your  patients  without  such  qualification  ?  Is  it 
not  ignorance  of  the  workings  of  this  divine  law  that  has  given 
birth  to  the  foundationless  nightmare  now  prevailing  to  such  an 
alarming  extent  all  over  civilization,  that  a  deadly  drug  will 
prove  its  efficacy  in  warding  off  disease  in  a  better  way  than  has 
been  prescribed  by  the  intelligent  God  who  has  formulated 
and  combined  life,  mind,  and  matter  in  such  a  manner  that  it 
becomes  the  connecting  link  between  a  world  of  mind  and  that 
element  known  as  matter?  Can  a  deep  philosopher  do  otherwise 
than  conclude  that  Nature  has  placed  in  man  all  the  qualities 
for  his  comfort  and  longevity?  Or  will  he  drink  that  which  is 
deadly,  and  cast  his  vote  for  the  crucifixion  of  knowledge? 


CHAPTER  III. 


Divisions  of  the  Body. 

MISSION  OF  THE  DOCTOR." 

To  find  health  should  be  the  object  of  the  doctor.  Any- 
one can  find  disease.  He  should  make  the  grand  round  among 
the  sentinels  and  ascertain  if  they  are  asleep,  dead,  or  have  de- 
serted their  posts,  and  have  allowed  the  enemy  to  get  into  the 
camp.  He  should  visit  all  posts.  Before  he  goes  out  to  make 
the  rounds,  he  should  know  where  all  the  posts  are,and  the  value 
of  the  supply  he  has  charge  of,  whether  it  be  shot,  shell,  food, 
clothing,  arms,  or  anything  of  value  to  the  company  or  division. 

FIVE  DIVISIONS. 

So  great  a  subject  as  the  study  of  man,  not  to  be  superfi- 
cial, must  be  divided  into  two  or  more  parts.  While  the  head 
and  neck  are  related  to  and  connected  with  the  whole  body, 
their  importance  to  that  body  of  which  they  are  parts  cannot 
be  comprehended  without  a  thorough  and  special  acquaintance 
with  all  forms  and  substances  passing  through  in  transit  and  re- 
turn. Without  knowing  the  function  of  the  brain,  we  cannot 
know  its  uses.  Therefore  an  acquaintance  to  a  general  under- 
standing is  absolutely  necessary,  that  we  may  regulate  our  treat- 
ment, which  is  only  an  inspection  and  adjustment  of  the  head  to 
its  true  position  with  the  neck.  As  the  neck  is  compound  in  its 
attachments,  first  to  the  head  and  then  to  the  body,  the  import- 
ance of  knowledge  has  doubled  itself,  because  the  neck  receives 
and  transmits  fluids  from  the  body  to  the  brain,  through  its  or- 
ganized machinery,  and  to  the  body  or  chest  with  all  its  machin- 


DIVISIONS  OF  THE   BODY.  73 

ery,  which  receives  at  the  heart  nutrient  elements  from  below 
and  delivers  the  same  to  the  lungs  for  such  preparation  as  is  in- 
cumbent upon  that  division  of  life 's  sustaining  machinery.  We 
need  a  good  knowledge  of  the  head  and  neck  and  the  relation 
they  bear  to  the  lungs,  the  great  renovators  and  vitalizers  of 
fluids  previous  to  their  return  to  the  heart  for  general  uses. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  thoroughly  know  the 
parts  and  uses  of  both  the  heart  and  lungs,  where  and  how  both 
have  received  their  forms,  forces,  and  materials  that  enter  into 
those  forms,  and  the  power  sustaining  divisions,  how  they  are 
supported  in  their  duties.  We  see,  in  order  to  keep  the  chest 
and  lungs  normally  healthy, we  must  know  how,  where,  and  why 
they  act,  and  we  can  only  know  this  by  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  forms  and  functions  of  the  head  and  all  therein  belong- 
ing, with  the  neck,  in  which  all  of  the  thoroughfares  are  found 
and  through  which  forces  are  transmitted. 

When  we  shall  have  mastered  a  reasonable  comprehen- 
sion of  these  divisions,  we  are  only  feebly  prepared  to  enter  a 
new  and  more  extended  field,  with  its  connected  oneness  in  re- 
ceiving blood  and  other  substances  and  appropriating  them  to 
the  duties  of  constructing  machinery  to  receive  gases,  blood, 
and  other  substances  and  associating  them  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  become  the  living  corpuscles  of  construction,  not  only 
with  the  ability  to  build  up  muscles,  but  the  ability  from 
a  germ  to  begin  the  addition  of  atom  to  atom  through  all 
steps  of  fcetal  life  to  a  perfectly  formed  human  being,  with 
all  organs,  glands,  and  substances.  We  must  see  the  great 
importance  of  the  highest  known  intelligence  that  can  be 
accumulated  by  the  study  of  the  human  body  from  head  to 
abdomen,  because  here  we  are  in  a  city  of  living  wonders  per- 
taining to  life.  At  this  point,  beginning  with  the  first  lumbar, 
we  have  an  unexplored  field  of  great  truth  presented  to  our 
minds,  which  should  imply  how  much  injury  can  be  admit- 


74  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

ted  and  not  go  beyond  the  power  of  repair.  In  the  fourth 
and  fifth  divisions,  better  understood  as  the  region  of  the  abdo- 
men and  pelvis,  if  wounds,  falls,  punctures,  or  other  injury  would 
cause  impingement  upon  any  nerve,  vein,  or  artery,  how  far 
can  Nature  tolerate  any  such  encroachment  and  still  be  able  to 
keep  up  something  of  a  normal  appearance  ?  How  far  can  such 
injuries  proceed  without  causing  failure  to  a  degree  that  would 
produce  piles,  leucorrhea,  monthly  convulsions,  fibroid  and 
other  forms  of  tumefaction,  ulcers,  Bright's  disease  of  the  kid- 
neys, gall-stones,  bladder-stones,  enlarged  liver,  diseased  spleen, 
jaundice,  dropsy,  varicose  veins,  and  many  other  diseases  that 
we  have  not  space  to  enumerate  here?  Has  not  man's  inability 
to  comprehend  this  important  question  given  birth  and  place 
to  a  resort  to  try  to  solve  such  questions  by  the  rules  of  hit  or 
miss,  better  known  as  symptomatology?  Does  not  Nature, 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  machinery,  offer  a  more  reliable  sys- 
tem of  locating  cause  by  adjusting  that  machinery  so  that  it 
can  remove  the  cause  and  change  effect? 

These  five  points  of  observation  for  the  osteopath  to  re- 
member in  his  examination  will  easily  cover  the  whole  body. 
We  cannot  overlook  any  one  of  them  and  successfully  examine 
any  disease  of  the  system.  Local  injuries  are,  however,  an  ex- 
ception to  this  rule,  but  even  a  local  hurt  often  causes  general 
effect.  Suppose  a  fall  should  jar  the  lumbar  vertebrae  and  push 
some  of  the  articulations  to  the  front  or  back  or  to  the  side. 
Say  we  have  the  lumbar  vertebrae  disturbed  and  one  or  two  short 
ribs  turned  down  against  the  lumbar  nerves,  with  a  prolapsed 
and  loosened  diaphragm  and  pressure  on  the  abdominal  aorta, 
vena  cava,  and  thoracic  duct.  Have  we  not  cause  there  for 
the  stoppage  or  derangement  of  the  circulation  in  the  arteries, 
veins,  lymphatics,  and  all  the  organs  below  the  diaphragm? 
Heart  trouble  would  then  naturally  result.  Fibroid  tumors, 
painful  monthlies,  constipation,  diabetes,  dyspepsia,  or  any 


DIVISIONS  OP  THE  BODY.  75 

trouble  of  the  system  that  could  be  caused  by  bad  blood  would 
also  naturally  follow.  If  blood,  lymph,  or  chyle  are  kept 
too  long  below  the  diaphragm,  they  become  diseased  before 
they  reach  the  lungs,  and  after  renovation  but  little  good  blood 
is  left.  Then  the  dead  matter  is  separated  from  the  blood  and 
blown  out  while  in  a  vaporous  state  at  the  lungs.  Thus  there 
is  not  enough  nutriment  to  keep  up  the  normal  supply.  In  this 
state  the  patient  loses  flesh  and  is  in  an  enfeebled  condition  gen- 
erally, because  of  the  trouble  the  blood  and  lymph  have  in  pass- 
ing through  the  diaphragm.  The  failure  of  the  free  action  of 
blood  produces  general  debility,  congestion,  low  types  of  fever, 
dropsy,  constipation,  tumefaction,  and  on  to  the  whole  list  of 
visceral  diseases. 

We  are  then  called  to  the  pelvis.  If  the  innominate  bones 
are  twisted  on  the  sacrum  or  are  driven  too  high  or  too  low,  an 
HI  jury  to  the  sacral  system  of  nerves  would  be  cause  for  con- 
gestion, inflammation  of  the  womb,  or  bladder  diseases,  with  a 
crippled  condition  of  all  the  spinal  nerves.  This  would  cause 
hysteria,  and  on  to  the  whole  list  of  diseases  due  to  spinal  inju- 
ries. The  osteopath  has  great  demand  for  his  powers  of  reason 
when  he  considers  the  relation  of  diseases  generally  to  the  pel- 
vis, and  this  knowledge  he  must  have  before  his  work  can  be 
done  successfully. 

As  I  said,  five  points  comprise  the  fields  in  which  an  osteo- 
path must  search.  I  have  given  you  quite  pointedly,  although 
not  at  length,  a  few  hints  on  the  spine  and  sacrum,  which  cover 
the  territory  below  the  diaphragm.  I  will  simply  refer  you  to 
the  chest,  neck,  and  brain,  and  say,  "Let  your  searchlight  al- 
ways shine  brightly  on  the  brain. ' '  On  it  we  must  depend  for 
power.  Most  of  the  nerves  run  through  the  neck  and  branch  off 
to  the  heart  and  brain,  the  two  most  important  parts  of  man. 
Search  faithfully  for  causes  of  diseases  in  the  head,  neck,  chest, 


76  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

spine,  and  pelvis,  for  all  the  organs,  limbs,  and  parts  are  direct- 
ly related  to  and  depend  on  these  five  localities  to  which  I  hUve 
just  called  your  attention.  With  your  knowledge  of  anatomy, 
I  am  sure  you  can  practice  and  be  successful,  and  you  should  be 
successful  in  all  cases  over  which  osteopathy  is  supposed  to 
preside. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Head,  Face,  and  Scalp. 

CAUSES  OP  EFFECTS. 

It  is  useless  to  enumerate  all  the  diseases  peculiar  to  the 
head,  face,  and  scalp.  If  a  shortage  of  blood-supply  should  be 
apparent  in  any  organ  or  division  of  the  head,  reason  would  say, 
"Turn  on  a  greater  supply  of  blood ;  see  that  there  is  no  obstruc- 
tion to  the  nerve-forces. ' '  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  scalp  and 
face  should  be  puffed  out  of  shape  by  blood  and  water,  address 
your  attention  to  the  venous  and  lymphatic  drainage,  and  keep 
that  up  until  completed.  Your  knowledge  of  nerve-supply  for 
blood,  lymphatics,  and  all  organs  of  the  head  should  guide  you 
correctly  here,  and  it  will  if  you  have  given  due  attention  to  in- 
structions in  anatomy  and  physiology.  This  work  is  not  writ- 
ten to  teach  a  lazy  student  where  to  punch  and  pull,  who  has 
neglected  to  receive  the  benefits  of  the  instructions  provided  for 
him  in  school.  The  same  rule  holds  equally  good  with  diseases 
of  the  neck,  breast,  and  abdomen.  You  have  all  details  freely 
given  in  clinic  instruction. 

We  often  find  a  lesion  which  may  appear  as  a  growth  or 
withering  away  of  a  limb,  affecting  all  its  muscles,  nerves,  and 
blood-supply.  In  cases  of  tumors  on  the  scalp,  loss  of  hair, 
eruptions  of  the  face,  growth  of  tonsils,  ulcers  on  one  or  both 
ears,  growths  on  the  outside  and  inside  of  the  eyes,  a  cause  must 
precede  the  effect  in  all  these  cases.  A  pain  in  the  head  is  an  ef- 
fect. Cause  is  older  than  the  effect,  and  is  absolute  in  all  vari- 
ations from  normal  conditions.  A  tumor  on  the  head  and  un- 


78  PHEUOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

der  the  skin  is  an  effect  only.  It  took  matter  to  give  it  size,  it 
took  power  to  deliver  that  substance.  The  fact  that  a  tumor 
was  formed  shows  that  the  power  to  build  was  present  and  did 
the  work  of  construction.  Another  power  should  have  been 
there  to  complete  the  work  at  that  location.  That  power  is  the 
carrying  off  of  the  dead  matter  after  the  work  of  construction 
was  complete. 

ERYSIPELAS. 

This  philosophy  knows  no  life  nor  death  except  through  the 
motion  of  the  blood  and  the  inaction  of  that  fluid,which  contains 
life  while  in  motion  and  death  as  the  effect  of  motion  ceasing. 
Without  giving  in  detail  the  divisions  and  bones  of  the  head,  I 
will  say,  in  considering  the  subject  of  diseases  of  the  head,  that 
the  head  is  composed  of  hard  bones  covered  with  soft  flesh 
and  filled  with  brain,  blood,  nerves,  and  membranes.  It  has  di- 
visions to  suit  the  functions  of  the  inner  chamber  of  the  crani- 
um or  skull.  On  the  under  side  or  surface  of  the  skull  there  are 
many  holes,  foramina,  or  openings,  to  accommodate  the  blood- 
vessels and  other  structures  that  supply  and  drain  the  brain. 
On  the  outside  of  the  skull  the  head  is  covered  with  soft 
substances,  skin,  fascia,  muscles,  nerves,  veins,  secretives, 
and  excretives.  This  human  head  shows  many  effects,  dis- 
eases, whose  cause  can  be  traced  to  lack  of  nourishing  blood- 
supply,  to  poor  drainage  and  exhausted  fluids,  which  should  be 
returned  through  the  venous  or  thrown  out  through  the  excre- 
tory system.  .With  this  known  fact  and  your  knowledge  of 
anatomy,  I  think  you  are  very  well  qualified  to  answer  the 
question,  What  is  the  cause  of  erysipelas,  with  its  fiery  swelling 
which  spreads  over  the  skin  of  the  face  and  scalp  of  the  head, 
to  the  complete  occupation  of  both?  Here  is  a  detention  of 
blood,  detained  long  enough  to  cause  what  is  commonly  known 
as  erysipelas  of  the  head  and  scalp.  That  visible  effect  is  a  re- 


HEAD,   FACE,    AND   SCALP.  79 

Stilt  of  an  action  known  as  fermentation  of  the  fluids  that  should 
have  passed  from  the  veins  and  membranes  of  the  scalp,  the 
fascia,  lymphatics,  and  cellular  system  of  the  head  and  face. 
When  I  ask  you  where  and  how  the  blood  is  conveyed  from  the 
face  back  to  the  heart,  you  will  describe  the  blood-vessels  that 
empty  into  the  jugular  veins, internal  and  external.giving  a  short 
enumeration  of  the  external  veins  of  the  face,  the  facial,  the  tem- 
poral, the  angular,  the  transverse  nasal,  the  frontal,  post-auric- 
ular, and  occipital,  which  empty  into  the  external  and  internal 
jugular.  The  failure  or  stoppage  of  blood  that  has  caused  this 
facial  erysipelas  can  easily  be  traced  to  the  large  veins  that  should 
keep  the  face  thoroughly  drained.  You  see  where  the  trouble 
is,  and  by  that  knowledge  know  that  you  must  assist  the  ob- 
structed drainage  to  the  normal.  Then  your  labor  is  done ;  the 
arterial  and  venous  energies  will  take  care  of  the  necessary  drain- 
age and  repair.  When  erysipelas  attacks  the  nose  only,  your 
work  is  directed  to  the  facial  and  nasal  veins.  Should  the  ery- 
sipelas localize  itself  between  the  ear  and  occipital  region,  your 
work  would  be  to  encourage  the  discharge  of  venous  blood 
through  the  auricular  and  occipital  veins.  Should  the  tongue  be 
swollen,  your  treatment  would  extend  to  the  lingual,  superior 
thyroid,  and  anterior  jugular  veins.  By  this  method  we  obtain 
reduction  of  bulky  deposits  and  swellings  of  the  face,  and  know 
that  normal  action  will  follow  judicious  renovation.  The  stu- 
dent will  ever  remember  that  no  action  can  be  suspended  in  the 
arterial  supply  and  venous  drainage  of  the  face  and  scalp  and 
not  leave  visible  marks  by  such  failure. 

BALDNESS. 

At  this  time  it  would  be  well  enough  to  point  the  stu- 
dent to  baldness  or  hair-failure,  due  to  a  lack  of  nourishment 
on  the  part  of  the  artery  and  lack  of  drainage  by  the  vein.  To 
this  we  will  add  dandruff,  scald-head,  pimples,  spots,  and  dis- 


80  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

colorations  of  the  face.  All  have  absolute  causes  for  their  ap- 
pearance, and  it  is  for  us  to  detect  the  cause  and  apply  the  rem- 
edy. The  importance  of  a  good  knowledge  of  the  blood-supply 
of  the  face  and  scalp  is  patent. 

As  we  have  dwelt  somewhat  on  the  venous  drainage,  we 
will  now  give,  by  way  of  refreshing  the  student's  memory,  a 
short  description  of  the  superficial  arteries  of  the  head.  We  will 
begin  with  the  external  carotid,  branch  off  toward  the  nose  and 
mouth  with  the  facial,  the  coronary,  the  nasal,  transverse 
facial,  orbital,  supraorbital,  temporal,  frontal  branch,  parietal 
branch,  occipital,  and  posterior  auricular.  With  the  image  of 
the  superficial  arteries  of  the  head  in  your  mind's  eye,  you  are 
prepared  to  reason  that  the  drainage  of  the  head  through  the 
veins  must  be  normal,  or  diseases  of  the  head  and  face  will  be 
the  result,  and  will  show  their  effects  upon  the  outer  surface  and 
all  through  the  skin,  extending  down  to  the  fascia,  the  lym- 
phatics, the  parotid  glands,  and  other  important  structures  of 
the  head  and  face.  We  must  have  good  and  unobstructed  action 
of  the  nerves  of  the  head  and  face,  because  much  depends  upon 
their  combined  action.  These  nerves  are  the  posterior  auricular, 
auriculo-temporal,  supraorbital,  buccal,  malar,  nasal,  supra- 
trochlear,  infratrochlear,  infraorbital,  and  supramandibular. 
I  think  by  this  time^I  have  given  enough  of  the  important  nerves 
so  that,  without  any  other  assistance,  you  can  safely  proceed  with 
the  management  of  erysipelas  in  all  parts  of  the  head  and  face. 
You  will  see,  if  you  reason  at  all,  that  by  constriction  of  the 
muscles  and  membranes  around  the  blood-vessels  we  have  a 
stoppage  or  almost  a  complete  inhibition  of  the  blood  while  in 
transit  from  the  head  to  the  heart.  You  will  remember  that  the 
system  of  constriction  is  very  extensive  in  the  region  of  the  up- 
per part  of  the  neck,  at  its  junction  with  the  head.  Irritation 
from  the  constricture  causes  extensive  congestion  of  the  internal 
systems  of  arterial  and  venous  circulation  as  well  as  of  the  ex- 


HEAD,   FACE,    AND   SCALP.  8 1 

ternal.  Let  me  point  your  attention  to  the  lungs,  with  their 
increased  motion  in  breathing.  Has  not  this  constricture 
extended  to  the  lungs  by  the  irritation  of  the  pneumogastric 
nerves  in  the  region  of  the  neck  as  they  pass  from  the  brain 
to  the  lungs?  Surely,  with  constricture  of  ascending  arteries, 
there  is  a  demand  for  greater  arterial  force,  and  we  find  the 
effect  we  call  "a  hard  and  quick  pulse,"  which  is  known  to 
accompany  erysipelas  of  the  head  and  face. 

TREATMENT  OP  ERYSIPELAS. 

We  will  now  take  up  the  treatment  of  erysipelas ;  but  just 
before  entering  into  the  discussion  of  the  best  method  of  treat- 
ing this  disease  and  other  diseases  of  the  head,  I  will  say  that 
this  is  an  effort  on  my  part  to  teach  the  student  how  to  concen- 
trate his  mind  on  the  subject  of  diseases  presented  for  his  skill, 
deliberation,  and  practice.  I  will  define  erysipelas  by  giving 
Gould 's  definition :  "Erysipelas.  An  acute  infectious  disease, 
due  to  the  streptococcus  erysipelatosus  (which  is  probably  iden- 
tical with  the  streptococcus  pyogenes),  and  characterized  by  an 
inflammation  of  the  skin  and  subcutaneous  tissues.  E.,  Facial, 
erysipelas  of  the  face,  the  most  common  form.  After  an  initial 
chill,  the  temperature  rises  very  high.  There  may  be  vomiting 
and  delirium,  and  the  disease  may  rapidly  spread  over  a  great 
part  of  the  body.  The  affected  area  is  swollen,  has  a  deep  red 
color,  an  elevated  margin,  and  itches.  E.,  Wandering,  a  form 
in  which  the  erysipelatous  process  successively  disappears  from 
one  part  of  the  body  to  appear  subsequently  at  another  part.' ' 

Before  the  student  begins  to  treat  erysipelas  or  any  dis- 
ease of  the  head,  I  wish  to  tell  just  what  I  mean  by  "treatment." 
If  I  say  to  treat  the  cervical  and  facial  nerves,  I  do  not  mean 
that  you  mu?*  :b  the  neck  and  hold  down  the  muscles.  I  want 
you  to  adjust  the  bones  of  the  neck  and  let  blood  flow  to  and 
feed  the  nerves  and  muscles  of  the  neck  and  stop  the  constrict- 


82  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF1  OSTEOPATHY. 

ures  that  have  been  holding  the  blood  in  check  until  it  has  died 
for  want  of  air.  We  know  that  in  any  case  of  erysipelas  we  have 
sour  fluids,  the  effect  of  delay  of  blood  while  in  the  veins  located 
in  the  affected  area.  This  venous  blood  must  be  sent  to  heart 
and  lungs  for  purification  and  renewal.  The  operator  is  sup- 
posed to  come  into  this  important  battle,  where  local  life  is  to 
be  saved  by  increasing  the  vital  force  and  supplying  pure  and 
healthy  blood.  He  should  halt  and  establish  himself  £or  obser- 
vation as  a  seeker  of  the  cause  of  this  local  delay  in  circulation, 
venous  or  arterial,  and  in  the  nerve-action,  because  in  these 
three  are  the  powers  to  supply  the  vital  fluids  and  remove  the 
exhausted.  Vital  forces  must  have  access  to  the  veins  and  arte- 
ries going  to  and  from  this  irritating  overplus  of  blood,  fluids, 
and  gases  that  are  occupying  the  spaces  in  the  skin,  membranes, 
lymphatics,  fascia,  superficial  and  deep,  in  the  region  of  the  face, 
mouth,  tongue,  tonsils,  Eustachian  tubes,  nasal  air-passages, 
and  the  glands  of  the  upper  part  of  the  neck  close  to  the  skull, 
the  scalp  included.  On  the  wisdom  of  his  conclusions  previous 
to  action  depends  the  good  or  bad  results  that  he  will  produce 
in  diminishing  the  deadly  supply  through  wisdom,  or  increas- 
ing the  same  through  ignorance  or  inability  to  reach  the 
positive  cause  of  the  constricture  that  has  shut  down  the  win- 
dows, doors,  or  openings  through  which  nerve-force  comes  from 
the  spinal  cord  and  other  branches  from  the  brain  to  the  face, 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  energy  to  the  blood  in  either  venous  or 
arterial  action.  He  must  know  that  if  a  hardness  of  the  fleshy 
substances  in  the  locality  is  found,  that  a  stricture  is  caused  by 
the  nerves  of  constriction,  and  that  this  constricture  proves 
itself  to  be  strong  enough  to  restrain  the  passage  of  blood  to  and 
from  the  locality  of  the  face  in  which  this  destructive  fermenta- 
tion is  doing  its  deadly  work.  The  philosopher  will  seek  the 
plexus  of  nerves  which  controls  the  blood-  and  nerve-supply 
and  the  drainage  through  the  venous  and  excretory  systems.  He 


HEAD,   FACE,    AND  SCALP.  83 

must  remember  that  he  is  dealing  with  a  spasmodic  constricture 
of  the  muscles  of  the  neck  and  face,  and  that  this  constricture 
forces  bones  together  with  such  power  as  to  draw  muscles  and 
fibers  strong  enough  to  force  the  upper  bones  of  the  neck  so  far 
to  the  right,  left,  front,  or  rear  as  to  produce  a  damaging  press- 
ure on  the  nerves  as  they  issue  from  the  brain  and  medulla, 
whose  dutyit  is  to  keep  the  fluids  of  the  face  in  harmonious  action 
for  all  purposes.  The  student  will  find  bones  varying  from  the 
normal  in  position  in  every  case  of  facial  erysipelas,  nasal 
erysipelas,  or  any  part  of  the  head.  I  say,  and  know  it  to  be 
true,  that  he  will  find  bony  variations  from  the  skull  and  atlas 
to  the  first  dorsal,  and  often  to  the  fourth  dorsal  in  facial  ery- 
sipelas and  other  diseases  of  the  head.  Your  patient  has  fever 
and  is  very  hot.  The  educated  touch  will  teach  you  this  with- 
out the  use  of  a  thermometer.  At  this  point  you  need  reason 
much  more  than  thermal  instruments.  My  question  to  you  is 
not  to  know  whether  the  temperature  is  a  100,  106,  or  160.  I 
want  to  drag  both  of  your  feet  out  of  the  ruts  of  allopathy, 
and  place  your  hands  upon  the  handle  of  the  pump  and  get 
some  water  from  the  lymphatics,  the  cellular  system  of  the 
lungs,  or  any  other  place  in  the  human  body,  set  the  excre- 
tories  all  to  work  and  put  the  fire  out,  like  any  sensible  fire- 
man would  do  if  a  city  block  were  on  fire.  Erysipelas  is 
reasonably  easily  handled  if  seen  and  treated  before  the  gan- 
grenous period  or  condition  sets  in,  or  inflammation  has  done 
its  deadly  work.  The  inquirer  for  information  would  naturally 
ask  the  question,  ' '  Why  do  the  osteopaths  want  the  excretory 
system  to  throw  water  on  the  consuming  fire?"  Let  me  call 
your  attention  to  the  fact  that  you  should  know,  as  physiolog- 
ical reasoners,  that  phosphorus  with  oxygen  and  surface  air,  as- 
sisted by  nerve-  and  blood-motion,  aided  by  electricity,  pro- 
duces a  union  between  the  oxygen  and  phosphorus,  and  the 
addition  of  nitrogen,  which  occupies  much  cellular  space  in  the 


84  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

body,  produces  the  combustion  known  as  fever  heat,  and  that 
phosphorus  ceases  to  unite  with  anything  whilst  submerged 
in  water  from  secretory  and  excretory  ducts  of  the  system. 

We  think  erysipelas  is  simply  an  effect  of  fermentation  of 
the  blood  and  other  fluids  of  the  surface  veins,  fascia,  and 
glands,  large  and  small,  of  the  face  and  neck.  We  can  see  by  a 
very  superficial  examination  the  internal  jugular,  superior  thy- 
roid, and  anterior  jugular,  assisted  by  the  external  jugular,  and 
furthermore  assisted  by  the  posterior  auricular,  occipital,  tem- 
poral, facial,  angular,  and  lingual  veins.  To  continue  with  the 
description  of  the  head,  face,  and  neck,  we  will  draw  your  atten- 
tion to  the  vena  cava  superior,  the  grand  outlet,  the  brachio- 
cephalic,  and  external  jugular,  with  all  the  blood-vessels  drain- 
ing the  face  and  neck  and  emptying  into  the  vena  cava  superior, 
the  process  of  the  fluids  in  which  must  be  undisturbed  by  any 
constriction  of  the  muscles,  fascia,  or  membrane,  that  would  im- 
pede and  suspend  the  return  of  venous  blood  before  asphyxia 
and  fermentation  could  possibly  set  up  their  destructive  ac- 
tion. In  presenting  this  short  description  of  the  rivers  through 
which  venous  blood  is  conveyed  to  the  heart,  I  think  it  not  amiss 
to  refresh  your  memory  by  drawing  your  attention  to  the  sys- 
tem and  situation  of  the  arteries  which  are  universally  distrib- 
uted over  the  face,  embracing  the  whole  head,  beginning  with 
the  external  carotid,  facial,  transverse  facial,  coronary,  nasal, 
orbital,  temporal,  parietal,  occipital,  posterior  auricular,  and  in- 
ferior carotid.  We  present  the  arterial  system  of  the  supply, 
then  the  venous  system  of  drainage,  in  order  that  by  reasoning 
you  may  arrive  at  a  conclusion  that  there  can  be  no  such  thing 
as  a  healthy  venous  stagnation.  We  find  a  system  of  maltage 
in  which  the  alcohol  of  decomposition  does  its  work  in  erysipe- 
las from  start  to  finish.  This  process  goes  on  and  on  poisoning 
the  blood  with  its  deadly  yeast  until  the  whole  lump  is  in  fer- 
mentation. A  simple  question  seems  to  be  in  place  at  this  time. 


HEAD,  FACE,   AND  SCALP.  85 

If  a  man  will  die  by  means  of  poisonous  medicines  administered 
by  way  of  his  mouth,  will  he  not  also  die  from  poisons  generated 
in  his  own  system  by  the  law  of  fermentation  and  decomposition? 
It  is  thus  that  we  reason  of  the  death  of  a  part  or  of  the  whole 
body.  This  poison  has  come  through  the  self -generated  fluids, 
which  are  poisonous  and  are  absorbed  in  quantities  sufficient  to 
produce  death  to  the  part  affected.  It  may  embrace  the  whole 
system.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  all  the  nerve-forces 
of  Nature  found  in  man  will  come  forward  in  great  haste  and 
combine  all  their  forces  to  discharge  this  deadly  enemy?  The 
heart  labors  with  great  force  and  rapidity.  The  lungs  increase 
the  process  of  breathing  to  many  times  the  normal.  The  con- 
strictor nerves  naturally  come  in  to  do  their  work  as  much  as 
possible  by  a  convulsive  process  of  relieving  the  lymphatics  of 
the  face,  head,  and  neck  of  unwholesome  contents.  If  success- 
ful in  this  effort  to  disgorge,  we  have  as  a  result  a  natural 
tendency  to  health  and  recovery.  The  human  body  will  sicken 
and  die  from  imperfect  drainage  just  as  certainly  as  the  inhab- 
itants of  a  great  city  would  become  extinct  by  collapse  or  any 
method  that  would  block  the  sewerage  main,  the  vena  cava  of  a 
great  city.  The  more  we  know  of  perfect  drainage  of  the  human 
body,  the  more  satisfactory  will  be  results  obtained  by  keeping 
up  the  natural  drainage,  which  should  be  perfect  at  all  times. 
As  we  have  referred  to  the  heart  and  lungs  and  to  the  import- 
ance of  keeping  them  free  from  all  obstructions,  that  they  may 
do  their  work  to  the  degree  required  of  them  by  Nature,  we  must 
also  by  our  reason  embrace  the  importance  of  keeping  the  brain 
free  from  impingement  by  any  stagnation  in  the  face  or  neck 
that  would  diminish  freedom  of  action  to  and  from  the  brain, 
the  known  local  center  of  nerve-action.  Our  success  as  osteo- 
paths in  treating  erysipelas  depends  altogether  upon  good 
nerve-action,  blood-supply,  and  normal  drainage. 


CHAPTER  V. 


The  Neck. 

ORGANIZED  SUBSTANCES  OP  THE  BODY. 

The  organized  substances  in  the  human  body,  to  the  stu- 
dent of  osteopathy,  should  be  in  divisions  when  he  begins  to 
philosophize  as  an  operator.  The  organized  substances  of  the 
body  are  the  skin,  fascia,  membrane,  muscle,  ligament,  bone, 
etc.  All  parts  of  the  body  when  in  form  consist  of  the  sub- 
stances above  named.  The  student  having  passed  through  de- 
scriptive and  demonstrative  anatomy,  histological',  chemical, 
and  physiological  studies,  will  find  all  parts  of  the  body,  without 
an  exception,  to  consist  of  bone,  skin,  fascia,  membrane,  cells, 
glands,  brain,  nerves,  blood-vessels,  etc.  If  health  is  perfect, 
it  only  proves  perfect  harmony  in  the  physiological  action  of  the 
body  in  all  its  parts  and  functions.  Any  variation  from  perfect 
health  marks  a  degree  of  functional  derangement  in  the  physio- 
logical department  of  man.  Efforts  at  restoration  from  the  dis- 
eased to  the  healthy  condition  should  present  but  one  object  to 
the  mind,  and  that  is  to  explore  minutely  and  seek  the  variation 
from  the  normal.  The  first  search  for  this  knowledge  would 
confine  us  to  the  bony  system,  in  order  to  see  if  any  lesion  pre- 
sents itself  by  any  abnormally  large  place  or  places.  First 
examine  the  neck,  because  of  its  position  and  connection  with 
the  brain,  which  is  the  physiological  source  through  which  nerve- 
force  is  supplied  and  suited  to  the  convenience  of  the  heart,  to 
assist  in  delivering  such  burdens  as  it  may  send  forth  to  nour- 
ish and  sustain  the  body.  Every  articulation  of  the  neck  should 


THE  NECK.  87 

report  itself  to  the  skilled  operator  as  absolutely  normal.  He 
should  remember  that  there  are  hundreds  of  ligaments  in  the 
neck,  and  that  any  strain  or  twist  may  produce  an  irritating 
tangle  of  nerves  that  should  be  wholly  free  to  keep  up  the  func- 
tional action  of  the  glands  that  are  so  numerously  distributed 
in  the  region  of  the  neck,  throat,  and  jaw.  A  scalenus,  a  sterno- 
mastoid,  an  omohyoid  muscle  may  be  irritated  to  contraction 
sufficient  to  disturb  the  nerves  of  the  constrictor  muscles,  which, 
when  tightened  down  upon  the  blood-channels  and  nerve- 
supply,  would  cause  a  dangerous  constriction  and  stop  blood 
and  other  fluids  from  passing  to  and  from  adjacent  parts,  to  a 
degree  of  congestion  followed  by  fermentation,  which  univer- 
sally attacks  all  stagnant  fluids  of  the  body.  He  who  has  edu- 
cated his  eye  and  hand  to  carefully  explore  the  neck  and  detect 
and  adjust  variations  is  the  man  who  is  armed  and  equipped  to 
bring  relief  to  the  child  or  person  suffering  with  throat  or  gland- 
ular diseases  of  the  neck.  Your  knowledge  of  anatomy  has 
taught  you  that  the  hard  and  soft  parts  of  the  neck  were  put 
there  for  a  purpose,  and  must  come  up  at  all  times  and  in  every 
place  to  the  plans  and  specifications  of  this  great  and  important 
division  of  human  health  and  happiness.  It  is  your  eye  of  rea- 
son and  your  finger  of  touch  that  I  exhort  to  be  instant  in  season 
and  out  of  season.  You  must  know  what  a  neck  is,  with  all  its 
parts  and  responsibilities,  or  you  will  fail  in  proportion  to  your 
lack  of  knowledge,  not  theoretical,  but  practical,  which  you  can 
only  obtain  by  experience. 

TREATMENT  OF  THE  NECK?> 

One  writer  says  that  you  must  stimulate  or  inhibit  the 
nerves  here  for  lost  voice  and  there  for  weak  eyes,  here  for  sore 
throat,  and  this  set  of  nerves  for  coughs,  that  set  for  caked 
breasts,  and  so  on.  I  wish  to  emphasize  that  when  I  say  you  must 
treat  the  neck  for  fits,  sore  throat,  headache,  dripping  eyes,  and 


88  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

so  on  through  the  whole  list  of  troubles  whose  causes  can  be 
found  in  slips  of  bones  of  the  neck  between  the  skull  and  the 
first  dorsal  vertebra,  I  mean,  if  you  know  what  a  neck  is,  to  treat 
that  neck  by  putting  each  bone  of  the  neck  in  place,  from  the 
atlas  to  the  first  dorsal,  and  go  away.  You  have  done  the  work 
and  all  the  good  you  can  do.  Reaction  and  ease  will  follow  just 
as  sure  as  you  have  done  your  work  right.  Begin  at  the  head 
and  start  at  the  first  bone  of  the  neck,  and  don't  guess,  but  know 
that  it  fits  to  the  skull  properly  above.  Then  see  and  know  that 
it  sets  squarely  on  the  second  bone.  Then  go  on  to  the  third, 
fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  bone.  Now  go  up  that  neck 
with  your  finger  and  push  all  the  muscles  of  the  neck  into  their 
places.  Blood  and  nerves  will  do  the  rest  of  the  work.  Follow 
this  course  once  or  twice  a  week,  and  don't  fool  away  any  time 
fumbling  to  "stimulate  and  inhibit," 

THE;  ARM. 

When  he  is  brought  face  to  face  with  the  stern  realities  of 
the  sick-room,  the  osteopath  begins  his  inquiries  and  follows 
with  his  questions  just  far  enough  to  know  what  division  of  the 
body  is  in  trouble.  If  he  finds  that  an  arm  has  lost  motion,  he 
goes  to  the  arm  to  explore  for  the  cause.  He  can  begin  his  hunt 
for  the  cause  at  the  hand  and  explore  it  carefully  for  wounds, 
strains,  or  any  lesion  that  could  injure  the  nerves  of  the  arm. 
If  he  finds  no  probable  cause  there,  he  should  explore  the  bones 
for  dislocations  or  strains  of  ligaments  at  the  elbow  or  wrist.  If 
he  finds  no  defect  in  these  articulations  sufficient  to  locate  the 
cause,  he  has  only  two  more  places  to  inspect — the  shoulder  and 
the  neck,  with  their  articulations  of  bones  and  muscles.  If  you 
find  all  things  normal  at  the  shoulder,  then  go  to  the  neck,  from 
which  all  the  nerves  of  the  arm  are  derived.  If  you  find  no 
lesion  or  cause  equal  to  the  trouble  so  far,  then  you  have  been 
careless  in  your  search,  and  should  go  over  the  work  again.  Care- 


THE  NECK.  89 

fully  look,  think,  feel,  and  know  that  the  head  of  the  humerus 
is  true  in  the  glenoid  cavity ;  that  the  clavicle  is  perfect  at  both 
ends  of  its  articulation  with  the  sternum  and  acromion  process. 
See  that  the  biceps  is  in  its  groove ;  that  the  ribs  are  true  at  the 
sternum  and  the  spine ;  that  the  neck  is  true  on  the  first  dorsal. 
Everything  must  be  true  in  all  joints  of  the  neck,  as  the  nerves  of 
the  arm  come  from  the  neck.  There  can  be  no  variation  from 
the  normal,  or  trouble  will  appear.  As  the  neck  has  much  to 
do  with  the  arm,  we  should  keep  with  us  a  living  picture  of  the 
forms  of  each  vertebra,  how  and  where  it  articulates  with  others, 
how  it  is  joined  by  ligaments,  and  what  blood-vessels,  nerves, 
and  muscles  cross  or  range  with  it  lengthwise,  because  from 
overlooking  a  small  nerve  or  blood-vessel  you  may  fail  in  re- 
moving a  goitre  or  in  curing  many  of  the  diseases  of  the  head, 
face,  and  neck. 

STRUCTURE  OF  THE  NECK. 

Previous  to  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  croup,  diph- 
theria, tonsillitis,  pneumonia,  spasms,  inflammation  of  the  brain, 
and  other  diseases  peculiar  to  children  of  a  few  months  or  years 
of  age,  I  would  think  it  wholly  useless  without  impressing  again 
upon  your  minds  the  importance  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
anatomy.  When  a  child  dies  by  disease,  he  dies  all  over.  The 
limit  of  the  ravages  of  the  disease  can  only  be  described  by  the 
anatomy  of  the  whole  human  body,  with  its  physiological  and 
anatomical  systems  of  blood,  both  to  and  from  the  heart,  as  di- 
rected by  such  vessels  and  delivered  by  the  forces  of  the  nerves. 
To-day  our  most  eminent  authors  who  have  written  on  such 
subjects  have  sent  us  into  the  field  of  action  wholly  incompetent 
to  combat  the  enemy  successfully.  At  this  point  of  the  discus- 
sion allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  cause  of 
disease  has  been  for  all  ages  a  silent  mystery,  lying  in  ambush 
and  shooting  its  smokeless  powder,  and  with  its  deadly  bullets 


9O  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

slaying  its  countless  millions.  No  author  whom  I  have  ever 
consulted  has  intimated  that  the  cause  of  such  diseases  had 
planted  its  battery  and  skirmishers  to  do  their  destructive 
work  in  the  nerves  of  the  pelvis.  Let  us  reason  from  our  knowl- 
edge of  anatomy,  giving  special  attention  to  the  spinal  cord 
from  the  occiput  to  the  coccyx,  with  the  many  nerves  that 
branch  off  from  the  cord  to  all  divisions  of  the  body,  to  construct, 
nourish,  and  move  the  whole  machinery  of  life,  as  found  in  the 
human  body  by  anatomical  and  physiological  research.  Like 
the  sensitive  plant,  these  nerves  cause  the  machinery  of  life  to 
dilate  when  it  receives  its  nourishment,  and  contract  just  as 
surely  when  assailed  by  enemies  that  would  inflict  injury.  Care- 
fully follow  me  to  about  the  tenth  dorsal  vertebra,  at  which 
point  you  will  see  the  beginning  of  the  cauda  equina,  with  its 
legions  of  nerves,  which  I  am  satisfied  have  secrets  in  their 
bosoms  not  yet  unfolded.  As  they  approach  the  lumbar,  the 
pelvis,  and  the  coccyx,  and  line  themselves  up  for  roll-call,  we 
find  them  to  be  that  innumerable  host  that  no  man  has  ever 
been  able  to  number.  Let  me  ask  a  few  questions :  Is  it  not 
plainly  probable  that  this  is  the  great  quartermaster  on  whom 
every  soldier  of  human  life  depends?  Does  not  the  mother  give 
life  and  form  by  the  constructive  labors  of  this  uncounted  host? 
If  this  division  of  the  body  be  as  valuable  to  the  human  life  as 
indicated  by  its  system  of  telephoning  that  is  hinted  at  by  Na- 
ture when  she  has  unfolded  her  great  bunch  of  wires  that  are  to 
converse  with  all  parts  of  the  body,  we  are  led  not  only  to  think, 
but  to  know,  that  the  language  is  positive,  that  this  is  the  sys- 
tem of  telegraphy,  and  that  those  wires  conducted  from  the 
main  branch,  off  at  a  few  local  stations  until  they  get  to  that 
great  city  of  life  that  is  situated  below  the  tenth  dorsal.  This 
system  of  wires  or  nerves  is  liable  to  be  torn  down,  as  are  the 
telegraph  and  telephone  wires  of  St.  Louis,  New  York,  or  any 
other  city,  by  sleet,  wind,  and  storm.  We  see  how  completely 


THE  NECK.  91 

all  parts  of  the  body  are  supplied  with  nerves  for  all  purposes. 
Would  it  not  be  folly  to  try  to  treat  local  effects  when  the  wisest 
author 's  eye  has  never  seen  any  farther  than  the  effects  of  which 
he  tells  you?  Diphtheria  affects  the  upper  systems  of  glands 
even  to  death.  The  disease  also  destroys  nerves  of  motion  and 
sensation,  of  voice  and  swallowing,  and  even  causes  partial  and 
total  paralysis  and  death.  Many  kinds  and  quantities  of  drugs 
have  been  used,  only  to  be  baffled  by  the  disease,  of  whose  mys- 
terious cause  nothing  is  known.  Authors  tell  us  that  while 
diphtheria  does  its  deadly  work  in  the  glandular  system,  croup 
does  its  deadly  work  in  the  surface  membranes  of  the  trachea 
and  lungs,  but  is  just  as  fatal.  They  leave  the  cause,  and  pre- 
scribe calomel,  whisky,  opium,  emetics,  and  chloroform,  and 
prepare  for  tracheotomy  and  the  death  of  the  babe  or  child  of 
three  or  five  summers. 

CROUP,  DIPHTHERIA,  TONSILLITIS. 

If  we  reason  on  any  subject,  we  can  offer  only  one  cause  for 
such  mental  effort ;  i.  e.,  conviction  in  the  mind  of  the  person 
who  thinks  and  speaks  has  grown  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
truth  pertaining  to  the  subject  has  not  been  unfolded  with  that 
degree  of  wisdom  that  it  should  be.  As  a  child,  I  was  taught 
that  the  difference  between  a  doctor  of  law  and  a  doctor  of  med- 
icine existed  in  the  fact  that  the  doctor  of  law  reasoned  from 
cause  to  effect,  while  the  doctor  of  medicine  reasoned  from  ef- 
fect to  cause.  The  lawyer  seeks  evidence  or  testimony  of  truths 
with  the  expectation  of  a  favorable  verdict,  and  on  this  founda- 
tion he  proceeds  in  all  cases.  If  he  has  presented  the  whole 
truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth  before  a  just  and  competent 
jury,  he  has  no  fear  of  the  result.  Still  he  knows  that  both 
ignorance  and  dishonesty  may  exist  with  bench  or  with  jury. 
Thus  ends  the  story  of  the  doctor  of  common  law.  Having  pre- 
sented the  condition  of  the  lawyer  as  we  understand  it,  we  will  try 


92  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

just  as  honestly  to  present  the  condition  of  the  doctor  of  medi- 
cine, or,  in  other  words,  the  lawyer  who  deals  with  physiolog- 
ical laws.  From  the  day  he  enters  this  great  field  of  usefulness 
to  the  end  of  his  career  as  a  physician,  he  finds  himself  con- 
fronted with  the  effects  of  hidden  causes,  which  are  far  back  in 
the  dark  fogs  of  mystery.  He  knows  that  much  depends  on  his 
diagnosis,  which,  being  translated,  means  to  guess  from  the  effect 
to  the  cause  that  has  produced  the  effect.  His  experience  is 
very  short  before  he  discovers  that  nothing  pleasant  or  unpleas- 
ant can  exist  without  a  cause.  He  reasons  that  darkness  is  an 
effect,  caused  by  the  absence  of  light ;  that  when  the  earth  be- 
comes wet,  it  is  an  effect  of  falling  water ;  therefore,  a  pain  in  any 
part  of  the  body  has  a  cause,  notwithstading  its  mysterious 
workings.  He  has  reason  to  believe  that  the  cause  exists  in 
brain,  blood,  nerve,  electric,  or  magnetic  confusion  in  the 
physiological  action  of  the  machinery  which  sustains  animal 
life. 

At  this  point  we  will  take  up  croup  for  discussion.  We 
will  commence  our  method  of  reasoning  by  setting  out  with 
an  apple  that  falls  to  the  ground  from  its  mother  tree,  and 
receives  a  bruise  which  destroys  the  healthy  condition  of  a 
small  spot  on  the  surface  by  that  concussion,  which  soon  pro- 
ceeds to  a  destructive  condition  known  as  fermentation,  or  rot, 
and  continues  to  the  destruction  of  the  whole  apple,  which  dies 
undoubtedly  from  the  diffusion  of  its  own  dead  blood.  It  is  evi- 
dent to  any  observer  that  in  the  fall  the  apple  received  a  dead- 
ly wound,  that  an  inflammatory  action  followed  and  the  fever 
or  fermentation  became  general,  and  the  apple  died  because  of 
diffusion  of  deadly  fluids  to  all  parts  of  the  body  of  the  apple, 
even  to  death.  You  see  that  from  the  first  small  bruise  it  was 
natural  with  the  apple  and  its  qualities,  when  this  chemical  lab- 
oratory was  put  in  motion  by  the  active  laws  of  fermentation, 
to  go  on  and  on  to  the  destruction  of  the  last  vital  drop  of  fluid. 


THE  NECK.  93 

I  think  you  fully  understand  by  this  time  that  something  else 
is  expected  to  be  illustrated  by  the  apple.  We  will  bring  in  the 
child  of  a  few  summers  from  the  mother 's  breast  and  set  it  down 
with  the  pelvic,  gluteal,  and  lower  spinal  nerves  on  the  cold 
ground,  which  is  electro-magnetic  without  a  doubt,  but  just  as 
reliable  in  its  effects  and  as  mysterious  in  its  methods  of  pro- 
cedure in  producing  a  deadly  shock  upon  the  pudic  and  lower 
spinal  nerves  and  starting  it  on  its  deadly  work  as  the  law 
that  governs  the  apple.  Thus  we  bruise  or  chill  the  nerves  of 
the  rectum,  because  it  is  the  nature  of  cold  to  contract  tissues. 
We  will  proceed  from  the  plexuses  there  and  journey  upward, 
to  observe  the  powerful  action  these  nerves  exercise  over 
membranes,  ligaments,  and  fibers.  A  powerful  shock  surely  is 
received  by  the  fascia,  with  its  cellular  and  lymphatic  systems, 
which  extend  to  every  muscle.  It  is  the  fascia  that  I  am  speak- 
ing of  now,  and  I  want  you  to  hold  it  in  your  memory  because 
of  its  universality  through  the  whole  human  body.  The  fas- 
cia has  much  to  do  in  feeding  its  own  and  other  nerves,  even 
on  to  the  spinal  cord,  which  is  the  one  great  conductor  from  the 
brain.  The  nerves  which  the  spinal  cord  throws  off,  be  they 
sensory,  motor,  or  nutrient,  their  harmony  must  not  be  tam- 
pered with  any  more  than  that  of  the  apple.  By  an  irritation 
of  those  nerves  you  are  warned  to  look  for  danger.  The  con- 
strictor nerves,  that  have  already  produced  constriction  at  the 
buttock,  are  as  sure  to  reach  the  lungs,  with  their  overpowering 
quantities  of  albumin,  fibrin,  and  asphyxiated  blood  from  the 
lymphatics  and  the  whole  cellular  system,  as  the  shock  or  bruise 
is  certain  to  extend  to  and  cause  constriction  of  the  kidneys 
and  leave  them  in  a  spasmodic  condition,  during  which  time 
they  cease  to  receive  and  excrete  all  substances  not  healthy 
in  the  territory  they  should  drain.  So  far  we  find  constriction 
of  bowels,  bladder,  and  all  membranes  and  muscles  of  the  abdo- 
men and  all  its  organs.  In  croup  we  find  both  kidneys  drawn 


94  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

convulsively  together,  forming  a  pyramid  over  the  aorta,  vena 
cava,  and  thoracic  duct.  We  find  the  buttock  of  the  child  ex- 
tremely cold,  with  no  arterial  action  below  the  crus.  On  exam- 
ination, we  find  the  diaphragm  constricted,  rigid,  and  tight. 
We  find  the  diaphragm  almost  inactive  during  spasmodic 
croup.  Here  I  think  I  am  warranted  in  saying  that  the  spas- 
modic action  beginning  at  the  buttock  and  extending  to  the  dia- 
phragm has  been  presented  plainly  enough  so  that  you  can  fully 
comprehend  what  I  think  is  the  initial  cause  of  croup.  A  shock 
to  the  nerves  of  the  cellular  system  and  their  contents  when  un- 
loaded and  carried  to  the  lungs  becomes  deadly  from  the  fact  of 
the  resistance  the  blood  receives  at  the  diaphragm.  The  deposits 
called  membranous  deposits  are  exuded  matter  from  the  cellu- 
lar system  to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  trachea  and  lungs, 
with  their  appendages. 

DIPHTHERIA. 

"Our  doctor  said  the  child  died  from  the  effects  of  diph- 
theria, which  ran  into  malignant  sore  throat  and  tonsillitis  of 
gangrenous  nature.  Our  doctor  is  a  mighty  good  man.  He 
did  all  he  could  for  sister.  He  said  he  wanted  to  save  sister,  and, 
in  consultation  with  two  doctors  that  he  had  summoned  from 
Boston  and  New  York,  he  did  all  he  could  to  save  her  life.  They 
used  all  remedies,  new  and  old.  They  swabbed  her  throat  with 
caustics  and  used  the  most  powerful  throat-washes  known  in 
Europe  and  America.  They  exhausted  all  the  simple  family 
remedies,  and  even  put  a  tube  in  sister's  windpipe  to  let  the  air 
into  the  lungs,  but  she  died  in  spite  of  all  that  could  be  done. ' ' 

The  girl  is  dead.  The  disease  was  called  diphtheria,  a  very 
dangerous  and  contagious  disease.  It  was  reported  to  the 
board  of  health,  who  ordered  out  flags  as  a  warning  for  others 
to  keep  out.  This  has  been  the  practice  and  treatment  in  these 
cases  for  lo  these  many  years.  Who  has  ever  questioned  our 


THE  NECK.  95 

sages  and  our  systems  of  reason  and  treatment  in  colds  and  dis- 
eases of  the  throat,  tonsils,  and  glands  of  the  neck  and  their 
passages?  Did  we  ever  halt  and  reason  that  the  white  patches 
found  in  the  mouth  and  throat  were  put  there  to  guard  the  parts 
against  coming  injuries  that  hurried  breathing,  cold  air,  food, 
and  drink  might  produce?  Did  we  ever  ask  why  God  put  such 
a  covering  over  these  exposed  surfaces?  When  we  remove  these 
natural  guards  to  life,  have  we  not  flatly  disputed  the  wisdom 
of  Nature  ?  If  we  remove  them  and  say  we  do  no  harm,  would 
we  not,  under  such  a  rule  of  reasoning,  be  just  as  wise  in  removing 
the  bark  from  our  fruit-trees,  expecting  the  trees  to  do  better 
without  the  bark  than  to  let  it  stay  where  Nature  put  it  until 
the  tree  grew  its  wood  and  fruit  and  dropped  its  old  bark, 
when  it  had  made  new  and  was  prepared  to  part  with  the  old 
that  was  of  no  further  use  to  the  life  of  the  tree?  Would  it  not 
be  wisdom  for  a  few  times  in  our  practice  among  sore  throats  to 
let  the  bark  stay  where  Nature  had  placed  it  until  it  had  done 
the  work  for  which  it  had  been  formed? 

A  word  from  long  experience  in  diseases  of  the  mouth, 
throat,  and  neck  of  the  young.  We  have  given  much  more 
faith  to  local  symptoms  and  local  treatments  than  we  should. 
The  best  we  can  say  of  such  is  that  it  leads  us  into  a  system  of 
routine  work,  which  is  followed  by  the  school  the  doctor  of  med- 
icine hails  from.  Forty  years  ago  I  began  to  let  throats  alone, 
by  keeping  all  kinds  of  washes  out  of  sore  throats.  For  sore 
spots  I  gave  the  baby,  boy  or  girl,  starch  gruel,  the  white  of  an 
egg,  gum  Arabic,  or  some  pasty  drink  to  cover  the  sore  spots. 
Give  such  often  until  soreness  leaves  the  throat. 

I  am  proud  to  report  that  I  have  lost  no  case  of  croup,  sore 
throat,  tonsillitis,  or  diphtheria  since  I  quit  the  unphilosoph- 
ical  practice  of  washing  and  swabbing  children's  throats,  which 
I  think  kills  75  per  cent  of  the  cases  that  have  died  from  infan- 
tile throat  troubles.  Give  your  patients  sensible  osteopathic 


96  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPI/ES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

treatment,  and  keep  washes  out ;  give  them  plenty  of  gruel  to 
eat  and  cover  the  sore  spots,  and  you  will  have  but  few  dead 
babies,  if  any,  out  of  your  list  of  throat  diseases  among  children. 

In  talking  on  diphtheria  and  other  throat  diseases  to  the 
students  of  my  school,  I  do  so  with  the  knowledge  that  I  am 
before  men  and  women  of  intelligence,  who  are  well  read  in 
the  very  best  of  American  literature,  which  is  equal  to  the  very 
best  of  the  most  advanced  nations  of  the  earth.  I  know,  too, 
that  you  did  not  come  here  for  any  foolishness  or  child's  play,  at 
a  heavy  loss  of  time  and  money.  You  came  to  this  military 
school  for  drill,  that  you  could  be  better  prepared  to  combat 
with  the  great  army  of  diseases  that  is  dealing  death  by  the 
millions  annually  to  the  human  race  all  over  the  earth.  I  know 
you  mean  business,  and  I  propose  to  talk  business  to  you  dur- 
ing your  sojourn  with  us. 

Our  medical  doctors  are  men  of  our  race,  and  they  have 
bravely  fought  for  the  lives  of  our  children.  They  have  used 
the  best  weapons  they  could  plan  and  build.  They  have  failed 
to  batter  down  and  take  the  forts  of  the  enemy.  The  enemy 
has  guns  and  ammunition  of  better  strength  and  longer  range. 
The  enemy  has  made  the  most  skilled  generals  of  medicine  run 
up  the  white  flag  of  surrender  and  the  blue  flags  of  danger,  which 
warn  others  to  keep  out  of  range  of  diphtheria,  smallpox,  and 
so  on  to  the  full  list  of  contagions  and  infections. 

Who  has  ever  run  up  a  white  flag  except  the  man  who  real- 
ized that  he  had  no  power  to  resist  longer,  nor  hope  of  victory? 
What  has  the  doctor  done  but  multiply  his  drugs  and  chronicle 
defeat?  He  knows  and  says  that  drugs  are  strong  compounds, 
of  which  he  is  just  as  ignorant  as  a  bootjack.  Like  a  rhinoceros, 
he  sees  and  fights  only  the  smoke  of  the  gun  that  throws  the 
deadly  bullets  that  tear  asunder  his  frame  and  let  the  life  out. 
The  medical  man  ends  with  his  little  book  on  symptomatology, 
and  doses  and  kills  babies  just  as  fast  now  as  at  any  time  for  a 


THE   NECK.  97 

thousand  years.  He  knows  his  practice  is  not  trustworthy. 
He  cuts  and  tries,  and  does  not  know  whether  the  tree  will  do 
better  or  worse  if  he  skins  the  bark  off  the  babies'  throats.  He 
swabs,  and  daubs,  and  tries  to  keep  up  with  the  last  antitoxin 
fad,  and  then  turns  the  dead  baby  over  to  the  deacon  who  levels 
all  babies  for  heaven,  and  tells  us,  "The  Lord  giveth,  and  the 
Lord  taketh."  Then  the  hunter  sets  out  on  a  hunt  for  more 
quail.  He  shoots  on  the  wing  only,  but  he  gets  a  heap  of  quail, 
and  asks  all  legislatures  to  give  him  a  good  quail  law  and  keep 
out  all  hunters  but  him  and  his  kind. 

Croup,  diphtheria,  tonsillitis,  and  kindred  diseases  of  the 
neck,  throat,  and  lungs  that  appear  with  the  quick  changes  of 
weather  in  fall  and  winter,  should  be  well  reasoned  upon  by  the 
osteopath  before  he  begins  his  treatment.  He  finds,  when  called 
to  treat  a  sore  and  swelled  tonsil,  in  some  a  croupy  cough,  fever 
on  face,  head,  and  breast ;  but  he  will  find  the  baby's  hips,  and  in 
fact  the  whole  body,  with  the  usual  flatness  lost,  and  round  from 
the  base  of  the  skull  to  the  pelvic  bottom.  We  run  to  our  little 
book  of  symptomatology,  and  find  we  have  what  is  called  croup, 
diphtheria,  tonsillitis,  and  so  on.  Here  we  ask  no  more  ques- 
tions, but  begin  to  dose,  drop,  cut  the  throat,  and  send  for  more 
doctors  and  the  latest  antitoxin  or  the  last  fad  that  we  have  read 
in  some  journal.  The  babe  dies.  A  next  comes,  to  run  the 
same  gauntlet  that  many  have  tried,  failed,  and  died  in. 

TREATMENT  OF  DIPHTHERIA. 

With  a  knowledge  of  the  beginning  of  these  diseases,  the  op- 
erator has  but  few  points  to  observe,  and  they  are  physiological 
facts  of  functioning  and  mechanical  skill.  Thus  armed,  we  will 
find  diphtheria  to  be  the  effect  of  cold  acting  on  constrictor  mus- 
cles of  the  neck  by  irritation  of  constricted  nerves,  by  atmos- 
pheric changes  from  hot  to  cold.  Such  changes  appear  at  all 
times  of  the  year,  but  are  more  common  in  the  fall  and  winter. 


98  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

Much  ignorance  prevails  as  to  its  contagious  nature.  No  known 
cause  for  its  appearance  has  been  found  that  is  not  in  doubt.  I 
think  that  troubles  that  appear  to  be  contagious  in  times  of  their 
prevalence  are  called  so  on  opinions  formed  on  quantity  more 
than  on  any  known  facts  as  to  their  infectious  nature.  The  chil- 
dren of  one  family  may  take  diphtheria  and  die,  and  all  their 
school-  and  play-mates  visit  at  all  times  during  the  worst  stages 
to  the  hour  of  death,  and  not  a  single  one  takes  the  disease,  or  sore 
throat,  or  anything  like  it.  It  appears  as  a  cold  and  does  its 
work  as  a  cold.  It  confounds  the  harmony  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. It  acts  as  a  wound  or  a  shock  to  the  vaso-dilators,  caus- 
ing them  to  give  way  to  the  constrictor  nerves  and  stop  the  mo- 
tion of  the  lymph  in  the  lymphatic  vessels  long  enough  to  fer- 
ment, heat  up  and  dry  the  lymph  of  the  epithelial  and  adipose 
tissues  and  cellular  membrane  of  the  tonsils,  trachea,  and  all 
air-passages,  tubes,  and  cells  of  the  lungs,  till  by  inflammation 
the  mucous  membrane  is  sloughed  off,  with  such  deposits  as  ac- 
cumulate in  the  mouth,  throat,  and  trachea.  If  there  is  any 
truth  in  the  theory  that  bacteria  of  the  same  kind  and  form  are 
found  in  all  places  of  diphtheria,  I  would  suggest  inquiring  into 
the  health  of  the  cow's  udder  from  which  the  milk  is  taken 
that  the  children  have  been  drinking.  Perhaps  that  cow  has 
but  three  teats  that  give  "sound"  milk,  and  the  other  gives 
lumpy  or  bloody  milk  from  an  ulcer,  cancer,  or  tubercular  bag. 
I  fear  that  the  bacteria  are  swallowed  in  diseased  milk. 

WHOOPING-COUGH. 

I  have  perused  all  the  authorities  obtainable,  and  have  ad- 
vised and  counseled  with  them  for  information  in  reference  to 
the  cause  of  whooping-cough  until  I  am  constrained  to  think, 
whether  I  say  so  or  not,  that  I  have  had  many  additions  of  words 
during  the  conversation,  and,  to  use  a  homely  phrase,  less  sense 
than  I  started  out  with.  My  tongue  is  tired,  my  brain  exhausted, 


THE  NECK.  99 

my  hopes  disappointed,  and  my  mind  disgusted,  that  after  all 
this  effort  to  obtain  some  positive  knowledge  of  whooping- 
cough,  I  have  received  nothing  that  would  give  me  any  light 
whatever,  pertaining  to  the  subject.  The  writers  wind  upjthus : 
that  it  may  be  due  to  a  germ  that  irritates  the  pneumogastric 
nerve.  I  go  off  as  blank  and  empty  as  the  fish  lakes  on  the  moon. 
I  supposed  that  the  writers  would  say  something  in  reference  to 
the  irritating  influence  of  this  disease  on  the  nerves  that  would 
contract  or  convulsively  shorten  the  muscles  that  attach  at  the 
one  end  to  the  os  hyoid,  and  at  the  other  end  at  various  points 
along  the  neck,  and  force  the  hyoid  back  against  the  pneumo- 
gastric nerve,  hypoglossal,  cervical,  or  some  other  nerve  that 
would  be  irritated  by  the  pressure. 

The  above  picture  will  give  the  reader  some  idea  why  I  be- 
came so  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  heaps  of  compiled  trash. 
I  say  "trash,"  because  there  was  not  a  single  truth,  great  or  small, 
to  guide  me  in  search  of  the  desired  knowledge.  And  at  this  point 
I  will  say,  on  my  first  independent  exploration  I  found  all  of  the 
nerves  and  muscles  that  are  attached  to  the  os  hyoid  contracted, 
shortened,  and  pulling  the  hyoid  back,  bringing  pressure  against 
the  pneumogastric  nerve  and  all  the  nerves  in  that  vicinity. 
Every  muscle  was  in  a  hard  and  contracted  condition  hi  the  re- 
gion of  this  portion  of  the  trachea,  and  extending  up  and  into  the 
back  part  of  the  tongue.  Then  I  satisfied  myself  that  this  irrita- 
ble condition  of  the  muscles  was  possibly  the  cause  of  the  spasms 
of  the  trachea  during  the  convulsive  cough.  I  proceeded  at  once 
with  my  hand,  guided  by  my  judgment,  to  suspend  or  stop  for 
awhile  the  action  of  the  nerves  of  sensation  that  go  with  and  con- 
trol the  muscles  of  the  machinery  which  conducts  air  to  and 
from  the  lungs.  My  first  effort,  while  acting  upon  this  philoso- 
phy, was  a  complete  relaxation  of  all  muscles  and  fibers  of  that 
part  of  the  neck,  and  when  they  relaxed  their  hold  upon  the 
respiratory  machinery,  the  breathing  became  normal.  I  have 


100          PHILOSOPHY  AND    PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

been  asked,  "What  bone  would  you  pull  when  treating  whoop- 
ing-cough?" My  answer  would  be:  "The  bones  that  hold  by 
attachment  the  muscles  of  the  hyoid  system  in  such  irritable 
condition,  beginning  with  the  atlas  and  terminating  with  the 
sacrum."  To  him  who  has  been  a  faithful  student  in  the  Amer- 
ican School  of  Osteopathy,  the  successful  management  of  whoop- 
ing-cough should  be  reliable  and  successful  in  all  cases,  when 
the  case  is  received  for  treatment  in  anything  like  a  reason- 
able time. 

Before  we  leave  that  wisely  constructed  neck,  I  want  to 
press  and  imprint  on  your  minds  in  the  strongest  terms  that  the 
wisest  anatomist  and  physiologist,  the  oldest  and  most  success- 
ful osteopath,  knows  only  enough  of  the  neck  and  its  wondrous 
system  of  nerves,  blood,  and  muscles,  and  its  relation  to  all 
above  and  below  it,  to  say,  "From  everlasting  to  everlasting, 
Thou  art  great,  O  Lord  God  Almighty!  Thy  wisdom  is  surely 
boundless."  For  we  see  that  man  must  be  wise  to  know  all 
about  the  neck,  for  by  a  twist  of  that  neck  we  may  become  blind, 
deaf,  spasmodic,  lose  speech  and  memory,  and  many  other  ills 
befall  us.  Think  for  a  moment  of  the  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  large  and  small  vessels  that  pass  through  the  neck, 
to  and  from  the  heart  and  brain,  to  every  organ,  bone,  fiber, 
muscle,  and  gland  in  the  body. 


o1 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Thorax. 

INHIBITION  AND  STIMULATION. 

When  we  use  the  terms  "inhibition"  and  "stimulation," 
we  mean  to  cut  off  or  to  excite  to  greater  activity  blood  or  any 
fluids,  magnetic,  electric,  or  life  forces.  One  has  said,  "Life  is 
that  calm  force  sent  forth  by  Deity  to  vivify  all  nature. ' '  Let 
us  accept  and  act  on  it  as  true,  that  life  is  that  force  sent  forth 
by  the  Mind  of  the  universe  to  move  all  nature,  and  apply  all 
our  energies  to  keep  that  living  force  at  peace,  by  retaining 
the  house  of  life  in  good  form  from  foundation  to  dome.  Let 
us  read  a  few  lines  in  the  book  of  Nature.  If  we  stop  blood 
hi  transit  and  note  a  few  changes  that  Nature's  chemistry 
takes  on  to  remove  dead  blood,  that  has  died  because  of  delay  in 
veins  and  arteries,  we  will  note  that  if  blood  fails  to  pass  a  point 
owing  to  an  obstructing  cause,  the  lungs  begin  to  labor,  taking 
in  much  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  air.  This  fills  the  chest 
so  full  that  the  blood  is  forced  into  the  arterial  system  for  a  short 
time  by  the  force  of  all  five  lobes  of  the  lung.  At  this  time  but 
little  blood  is  left  in  the  chest,  because  the  air  in  the  lungs  is  so 
great  in  bulk  that  to  make  room  for  that  bulk  the  blood  had  to 
be  pushed  from  the  chest  to  other  places.  Now  you  see  blood 
forced  from  chest  to  arteries  by  atmospheric  pressure,  which 
fills  all  space  in  the  chest ;  but  as  soon  as  the  air  is  taken  out  of 
the  chest,  a  vacuum  is  made,  large  enough  to  hold  three  quarts 
of  blood  which  has  been  detained  by  stop-valves  in  the  veins 
and  kept  back  and  out  of  the  chest  until  the  air  is  forced  out  by 


PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OP   OSTEOPATHY. 


1  A  '!t'  >   I   10 

102 


MoYHq 

exhalation;  then  the  blood  rushes  in  from  the  whole  venous 
system,  by  force  of  contraction  of  the  flesh  of  the  whole  body, 
which  drives  the  venous  blood  back  to  the  heart.  Thus  we  see 
atmospheric  pressure  acting  on  arteries.  The  air  is  in  the  lungs, 
and  forces  blood  from  the  heart  by  inside  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere ;  then  we  see  venous  blood  forced  back  to  the  heart  through 
the  veins  by  outside  atmospheric  pressure,  fourteen  pounds  to 
the  square  inch  of  skin  surface.  The  body  during  animal  life  has 
internal  and  external  atmospheric  pressure  to  assist  arterial 
and  venous  circulation. 

LUNGS  —  PLACE,  POWER,  AND  USE. 

We  see,  when  we  open  the  chest,  that  the  lungs  are  centrally 
situated  in  the  chest  and  directly  behind  the  heart.  We  find 
them  located  at  a  place  where  they  change  form  by  inhaling  air, 
which  change  calls  for  over  two  hundred  cubic  inches  of  space, 
which  can  only  be  prepared  for  by  removals.  If  we  look  and  rea- 
son, we  will  conclude  that  as  the  ribs  are  moved  outwardly  from 
the  heart,  the  diaphragm  downward  and  the  abdomen  filling  out 
and  down,  there  is  some  power  making  this  pressure.  This  is 
evident  to  him  who  reasons  at  all.  Then  he  is  ready  to  hunt 
and  locate  the  cause.  He  has  only  to  consult  his  own  power  of 
reason,  aided  by  his  observation,  to  learn  that  the  inner  side  of 
the  chest  is  the  location  and  the  lung  is  the  organ  that  wedges 
out  ribs,  blood,  and  flesh  while  in  distention.  One  thought  of 
the  power  of  atmospheric  pressure  will  start  reason  in  motion, 
and  we  will  see  that  atmospheric  pressure  is  one  of  the  most 
important  powers  that  any  philosopher  can  conceive  of,  for 
pressing  the  blood  forward  from  the  heart  through  the  arterial 
distribution;  then  again,  as  the  air  leaves  the  chest  a  vacuum 
is  made  and  venous  blood  naturally  comes  to  the  lungs  to  be 
purified,  and  when  purified,  the  next  breath  filling  up  the 
chest,  it  is  naturally  forced  to  the  heart,  to  have  this  newly 
prepared  blood  conveyed  to  its  destiny. 


THE  THORAX.  103 

Here  I  will  insert  all  I  have  to  say  of  lung  diseases.  By 
some  force  the  lungs  open  and  fill  to  the  full  capacity  of  the 
chest.  How  the  lungs  are  filled  is  not  of  so  much  importance  to 
an  osteopath  as  to  know  that  they  do  fill  the  chest  so  full  that  it 
pushes  blood,  ribs,  and  flesh  off  to  make  room  for  themselves. 
That  is  one  of  Nature 's  methods  for  keeping  blood  in  motion, 
both  by  pressure  while  filling  the  lungs  and  by  forming  a  vacuum 
when  letting  air  escape  from  the  lungs.  We  find  a  great  power 
and  use  in  the  pressure  of  the  lungs  when  filling,on  arterial  blood 
to  drive  it  through  the  system,  and  a  vacuum  to  receive  venous 
blood  when  air  escapes,  that  has  been  held  in  the  veins  by 
valves  which  keep  blood  from  being  pushed  back  while  the 
artery  is  being  aided  by  pressure  to  supply  all  parts  of  the 
system. 

The  lungs  open  and  shut;  they  swell  and  shrink.  They 
open  to  take  in  air  and  also  hold  the  air  for  a  short  period.  They 
run  by  involuntary  action.  When  they  fill  with  air,  they  take 
up  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  forty  cubic  inches  of 
space  in  the  chest,  and  to  get  that  space  blood  must  be  removed, 
ribs  must  be  pushed  out,  diaphragm  down;  that  coming  bulk 
has  to  be  hauled  into  the  chest  by  the  ability  of  the  cups  or  cells 
to  drink,  swallow,  or  suck  in  the  air.  So  far  the '  'how ' '  is  but  lit- 
tle understood.  Still,  it  goes  in  and  out  of  the  lungs.  Authors 
try  to  tell  of  muscle,  bone,  and  other  aids  and  "hows."  We 
read  much,  but  know  little  when  we  read  from  twenty  to  a  hun- 
dred pages  on  lung-action  by  this  and  that  author,  for  they  give 
no  real  and  positive  light  on  their  use  and  power.  What  I  want 
to  say  is  in  reference  to  the  power  of  the  lungs  when  filling  or 
full.  There  is  pressure,  power,  and  force  that  does,  can,  and 
will  wedge,  push,  or  force  blood  and  other  substances  out  of  the 
way  as  the  lungs  expand  to  the  full  size  of  all  the  space  allotted 
them  in  the  pleural  cavity.  We  soon  see,  if  we  observe  at  all, 
that  pressure  will  assist  in  driving  the  blood  through  the  arterial 


104          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

system  as  it  leaves  the  heart.  We  find  the  veins,  both  great 
and  small,  provided  with  two-stop  valves,  which  prevent  the 
blood  from  falling  back  when  on  its  course  to  the  heart.  No 
amount  of  pressure,  short  of  rupture,  can  cause  the  blood  to  re- 
turn from  whence  it  came.  But  as  soon  as  the  pressure  is  taken 
off  the  veins  of  the  lungs,  the  blood  naturally  flows  or  pours  into 
the  heart.  We  look  upon  this  as  the  provision  by  which  the 
arterial  flow  is  assisted  by  lung-pressure  and  the  venous  flow 
checked  until  the  arterial  system  has  supplied  all  demands  upon 
the  surface.  Then  the  pressure  eases  up  and  the  blood  naturally 
flows  to  the  heart  for  the  next  process  of  distribution  to  the  lungs, 
to  receive  such  chemical  substances  as  are  necessary  to  purify 
and  qualify  the  blood  to  be  returned  to  the  heart  for  universal 
distribution.  Thus  we  see  not  only  the  chemical  use  of  the 
lungs,  but  by  them  the  blood  receives  assisting  pressure  and  acts 
by  that  pressure  to  keep  the  blood  and  other  substances  in  per- 
petual motion. 

A  question  like  this  would  be  quite  natural  to  the  student : 
If  blood  is  driven  by  lung-force,  how  does  it  move  in  foetal  life 
before  the  lung  is  formed?  A  good  answer  to  that  would  be, 
that  in  foetal  life  the  mother's  lungs  give  purity  to  the  child's 
blood,  and  her  arterial  force  takes  the  place  of  after-birth  action 
and  force  demanded  previous  to  birth.  Thus  we  see  Nature 
has  filled  all  demands  in  animal  life. 

Following  this  lengthy  description  of  the  form  and  location 
of  the  lungs,  we  have  your  mind  in  a  prepared  condition  to  take 
up  lung  diseases,  to  lead  you  to  the  causes  of  the  effects  better 
known  as  diseases  of  the  lungs. 

PNEUMONIA. 

Under  this  familiar  name  or  title  we  will  say  to  the  inex- 
perienced student  that  in  changes  of  atmospheric  conditions 
the  lungs  receive  shocks  which  wound  or  disturb  the  natural 


THE)  THORAX.  105 

harmony  of  lung-action  by  irritating  the  nerve-terminals  as 
they  appear  in  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  lungs.  This  irri- 
tation after  a  time  produces  constriction  of  fibers,  tissues,  and 
muscles  of  the  lungs,  so  as  to  prohibit  freedom  in  the  passage 
of  the  blood  while  in  the  venous  system  to  such  a  degree  as  to 
suspend  atmospheric  assimilation  long  enough  to  produce  as- 
phyxia and  death  of  blood-corpuscles  and  other  substances  that 
may  be  or  should  be  in  action  in  a  healthy  condition  of  the  lungs. 
We  find  stagnation,  stoppage,  accumulation,  and  congestion  to 
the  degree  of  irritability  of  a  part  or  whole  of  the  lungs.  Now 
we  have  a  condition  of  inactive  fluids  deposited  in  some  part 
of  one  or  all  five  divisions  of  the  lungs,  which  take  on  themselves 
the  first  step  of  fermentation.  This  is  followed  by  another  ac- 
tion caused  and  known  as  inflammation,  which  brings  in  the 
higher  and  more  active  forces,  which  produce  an  increase  in 
temperature  to  the  degree  known  as  fever,  which  may  be  many 
degrees  hotter  than  the  normal  temperature  of  the  body.  We 
may  have  what  is  well  known  as  pneumonia  or  lung  fever,  which 
passes  on  in  quick  succession  to  other  stages,  such  as  coughing 
up  blood  for  a  day  or  a  longer  period,  until  this  increased  tem- 
perature and  augmented  action  have  changed  the  dead  blood 
into  gaseous  fluids  and  thrown  them  off  from  and  out  of  the 
lungs.  With  the  change  from  coughing  up  of  blood  we  have 
healthy  and  healing  pus. 

We  see  in  pneumonia  a  disease  beginning  in  an  irritation 
of  the  sensory  nerves,  and  progressing  from  that  condition  of 
irritation  to  congestion,  inflammation,  recovery,  or  death. 

CONSUMPTION. 

I  have  not  written  much  on  "Consumption,"  because  I 
wanted  to  test  my  conclusions  by  long  and  careful  observations 
on  cases  that  I  have  taken  and  successfully  treated  without 
drugs.  I  kept  the  results  from  public  print  until  I  could  ob- 


106  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

tain  positive  proof  that  consumption  can  be  cured.  So  far  the 
discovered  causes  give  me  little  doubt,  and  the  cures  are  a  cer- 
tainty in  very  many  cases.  An  early  beginning  is  one  of  the 
great  considerations  in  incipient  consumption. 

I  believe  so  many  deaths  by  consumption  will  soon  be  with 
the  things  of  the  past,  if  the  cases  are  taken  early  and  handled 
by  a  skilled  mind,  one  trained  for  that  responsible  place.  That 
mind  must  be  taught  this  as  a  special  branch.  It  is  too  deep 
for  superficial  knowledge  or  imperfect  work.  Life  is  in  danger, 
and  can  be  saved  by  skill,  not  by  force  and  ignorance.  He  who 
sees  only  the  dollar  in  the  lung  is  not  the  man  to  trust  with  your 
case. 

It  is  such  men  as  have  the  ability  to  think,  and  the  skill  to 
comprehend  and  execute  the  application  of  Nature's  unerring 
laws,  that  obtain  the  results  required.  We  believe  the  day  has 
come,  and  long  before  noon  the  fear  of  consumption  will  greatly 
pass  from  the  minds  of  people.  We  have  long  since  known  and 
proven  that  a  cough  is  only  an  effect.  If  an  effect,  then  a  wise 
man  will  set  his  mental  energy  on  the  track  to  hunt  the  cause. 
He  has  all  the  evidence  in  the  cough,  location  of  pain,  tenderness 
of  spine  and  chest,  and  quality  of  the  substances  coughed  up,  to 
locate  the  cause,  and  to  know,  when  he  has  found  it,  how  to  re- 
move it  and  give  relief.  It  will  grow  more  simple  as  he  reasons 
and  notes  effect.  We  do  not  think  that  this  result  will  be 
obtained  every  time  by  even  an  average  mind,  unless  it  has  a 
special  training  for  that  purpose.  The  physician  must  not  only 
know  that  the  lungs  are  in  the  upper  part  of  the  chest,  close  to 
the  heart,  liver,  and  stomach,  but  he  must  know  the  relations  all 
sustain  to  each  other,  and  that  the  blood  must  be  abundantly 
supplied  to  support  and  nourish  the  five  sets  of  nerves — sen- 
sory, motor,  nutrient,  voluntary,  and  involunatary.  If  the 
supply  should  be  diminished  on  the  nutrient  nerves,  weakness 
would  follow ;  reduce  the  supply  from  the  motor  and  it  will  have 


THE  THORAX.  107 

the  same  effect.  Motion  becomes  too  feeble  to  carry  blood  to 
and  from  the  lungs  normally,  and  the  blood  becomes  diseased 
and  congested,  because  it  is  not  passed  on  to  other  parts  with 
the  force  necessary  for  the  health  of  the  lungs. 

At  this  time  the  nerves  of  sensation  become  irritated  by 
pressure  and  lack  of  nutriment,  and  we  cough,  which  is  an  ef- 
fort of  Nature  to  unload  the  burden  of  oppression  that  con- 
gestion causes  with  the  sensory  nerves.  If  this  be  effect, 
then  we  must  suffer  and  die,  or  remove  the  cause,  put  out  the 
fire,  and  stop  waste  of  life.  Nature  will  do  its  work  of  repair- 
ing in  due  time.  Let  us  reason  by  comparison.  If  we  dislo- 
cate a  shoulder,  fever  and  heat  will  follow.  The  same  is  true  of 
all  limbs  and  joints  of  the  body.  If  any  obstructing  blood  or 
other  fluid  should  be  deposited  hi  quantities  great  enough  to 
stop  other  fluids  from  passing  on  their  way,  Nature  will  fire  up 
its  engine  to  remove  such  deposits  by  converting  fluids  into  gas. 
As  heat  and  motion  are  important  as  remedies,  we  may  expect 
fever  and  pain  until  Nature's  furnace  produces  heat,  forms  and 
converts  its  fluids  into  gas  and  other  deposits,  and  passes 
them  through  the  excretories  to  space,  and  allows  the  body  to 
work  normally  again. 

We  believe  consumption  causes  the  death  of  thousands 
annually  who  might  be  saved.  We  must  not  let  stupidity  veil 
our  reason,  and  we  are  to  blame  if  we  let  so  many  run  into 
"consumption"  from  a  simple  hard  cough.  The  remedy  is 
natural,  and,  we  believe,  from  results  already  obtained,  75  per 
cent  can  be  cured  if  taken  in  time.  What  we  generally  call 
"consumption"  begins  with  a  cough,  chilly  sensations,  and  lasts 
a  day  or  two.  Sometimes  fever  follows  with  a  cough,  either 
high  or  low.  The  cold  generally  relaxes  hi  a  few  days,  the  lungs 
get  "loose,"  and  much  sputa  is  raised  for  a  period,  but  the  cough 
appears  again  and  again  with  all  changes  of  weather,  and  lasts 
longer  each  time,  until  it  becomes  permanent.  It  is  called  "con- 


108  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP   OSTEOPATHY. 

sumption,"  because  of  this  continuance.  Medicines  are  admin- 
istered freely  and  frequently,  but  the  lungs  grow  worse,  cough 
more  continued  and  much  harder,  till  finally  blood  begins  to 
come  from  the  lungs  and  there  is  a  wasting  of  strength.  A  change 
of  climate  is  suggested  and  taken,  but  with  no  change  for  the 
better.  Another  and  another  travels  to  death  on  the  same  line. 
Then  the  doctor  in  council  reports  "hereditary  consumption," 
and  with  his  decision  all  are  satisfied,  and  each  member  of  the 
family  feels  that  a  cold  and  cough  means  a  coffin,  because  the 
doctor  says  the  family  has  "hereditary  consumption."  This 
shade-tree  has  given  comfort  and  contentment  to  the  doctors  of 
the  past. 

If  you  have  a  tiresome  and  weakening  cough  at  the  close  of 
the  winter,  and  wish  to  be  cured,  we  would  advise  you  to  begin 
osteopathic  treatment  at  once,  to  enable  the  lungs  to  heal  and 
harden  against  the  next  winter's  attack. 

A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CONSUMPTION. 

For  fear  you  do  not  understand  what  I  mean  by  "consump- 
tion," I  will  write  on  a  descriptive  line  quite  pointedly.  I  will 
give  the  start  and  the  progress  to  fully  developed  consumption. 
We  often  meet  with  cases  of  a  permanent  cough,  with  expecto- 
rations of  long  duration,  dating  back  two,  five,  ten,  even  thirty 
years,  to  the  time  the  patient  had  measles.  The  severity  of  the 
cough  and  strain  had  congested  even  the  lung-substances,  and 
a  chronic  inflammation  was  the  result.  If  we  analyze  the  sputa, 
we  find  fibrin  and  even  lung-muscle.  Does  all  this  array  of  dan- 
gerous symptoms  cause  an  osteopath  to  give  up  in  despair?  It 
should  not ;  on  the  other  hand,  he  should  go  deeper  on  the  hunt 
for  the  cause.  He  may  find  trouble  in  the  fibers  of  the  pneumo- 
gastric  nerve.  The  atlas  or  hyoid,  vertebra,  rib,  or  clavicle  may 
be  pressing  on  some  nerve  that  supplies  the  mucous  membrane  of 
air-cells  or  passages.  If  a  cut  foot  will  often  produce  lockjaw , 


THE  THORAX.  109 

why  will  not  a  pressure  on  some  center,  branch,  or  nerve-fiber 
cause  some  division  of  the  nerves  of  the  lungs  that  govern 
venous  circulation,  to  contract  and  hold  blood  indefinitely  as  an 
irritant,  and  cause  perpetual  coughing? 

This  is  not  the  time  for  the  osteopath  to  run  up  the  white 
flag  of  defeat  and  surrender.  Open  the  doors  of  your  purest 
reason,  put  on  the  belt  of  energy,  and  unload  the  sinking  vessel 
of  life.  Throw  overboard  all  dead  weights  from  the  fascia,  and 
wake  up  the  forces  of  the  excretories.  Let  the  nerves  all  show 
their  powers  to  throw  out  every  weight  that  would  sink  or  re- 
duce the  vital  energies  of  Nature.  Give  them  a  chance  to  work, 
give  them  full  nourishment,  and  the  victory  will  be  on  the 
side  of  the  intelligent  engineer.  Never  surrender,  but  die  in  the 
last  ditch.  Let  us  enter  the  field  of  active  exploration,  and  note 
the  causes  that  would  lead  us  to  conclude  we  have  the  cause 
that  produces  "consumption,"  as  it  has  ever  been  called. 

Begin  at  the  brain,  go  down  the  ladder  of  observation,  stop 
and  whet  your  knives  of  sharp  mental  steel,  get  your  nerves 
quiet  by  the  opium  of  patience.  Begin  with  the  atlas,  follow  it 
with  the  searchlight  of  quickened  reason,  comb  back  your  hair 
of  mental  strength,  and  never  leave  that  bone  until  you  have 
learned  how  many  nerves  pass  through  and  around  that  wisely 
formed  first  part  of  the  neck.  Remember  it  was  planned  and 
builded  by  the  mind  and  hand  of  the  Infinite.  See  what  nerve- 
fibers  pass  through  and  on  to  the  base  and  center,  and  each 
minute  cell,  fascia,  gland,  and  blood-vessel  of  the  lungs.  Do 
you  not  know  that  each  nerve-fiber  for  its  place  is  king  and 
lord  of  all? 

THE  EFFECTS  OF  CONSUMPTION. 

I  think  consumption  begins  by  closing  the  channels  in  the 
neck  for  the  lymph,  which  stands  as  one  of,  if  not  the  most  high- 
ly refined  elements  in  animal  bodies.  Its  fineness  would  indi- 


110  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

cate  that  it  is  a  substance  that  must  be  delivered  in  full  supply 
continually  to  keep  health  normal.  If  so,  we  will,  for  experi- 
mental reasons,  look  at  the  neck  ligated,  as  found  in  measles, 
croup,  colds,  and  eruptive  fevers.  Supply  is  stopped  from  pass- 
ing below  the  atlas  for  three  days.  During  such  diseases  fever 
runs  high  at  this  time  and  dries  up  the  albumen,  giving  cause  for 
tubercles,  as  fever  has  dried  out  the  water  and  left  the  albumen 
in  small  deposits  in  the  lungs,  liver,  kidneys,  and  bowels.  If  this 
view  of  the  great  uses  of  lymph  is  true  as  a  cause  of  glandular 
growths  and  other  dead  deposits,  have  we  not  a  cause  for  miliary 
tuberculosis?  Have  we  not  encouragement  to  prosecute  with 
interest,  in  the  hope  of  an  answer  to  the  question,  "What  is  tu- 
berculosis ?"  Our  writers  are  just  as  much  at  sea  to-day  as  they 
were  a  thousand  years  ago.  I  will  give  the  reader  some  of  the 
reasons  why  I  think  the  mischief  was  started  while  fluids  were 
cut  off  by  congestion  of  the  neck.  By  the  crudest  method  of  rea- 
soning, we  would  conclude  that  from  the  form  of  the  neck  many 
objects  are  indicated,  and  the  material  of  which  it  is  composed 
would  give  reason  to  turn  all  its  powers  of  thought,  to  ask  why 
it  is  so  formed  as  to  twist,  bend,  straighten,  stiffen,  and  relax 
at  will,  to  suit  so  many  purposes?  A  very  tough  skin,  a  sheath, 
surrounds  the  neck  with  blood-vessels,  nerves,  muscles,  bones, 
ligaments,  fascia,  glands,  great  and  small,  throat  and  trachea. 
In  bones  we  find  a  great  canal  for  the  spinal  cord.  It  is  well  and 
powerfully  protected  by  a  strong  wall  of  bone,  so  no  outer  press- 
ure can  obstruct  the  flow  of  passing  fluids,  to  keep  the  vitality 
supplied  by  brain-forces ;  but  with  all  the  protection  given  to 
the  cord,  we  find  that  it  can  be  overcome  by  impacted  fluids  to 
such  a  degree  as  to  stop  blood  and  other  fluids  from  supplying 
the  lungs  and  everything  below. 

THE  CAUSE  OF  CONSUMPTION. 

Consumption  to  an  osteopath  should  be  known  as  the  grave- 
yard in  which  the  dead  have  been  sent  from  the  hospitals  of  the 


THE   THORAX.  Ill 

physical  forms  of  the  body,  and  directly  from  the  fascia  of  all. 
We  reason,  when  the  lungs  throw  off  dead  matter,  that  the  blood- 
corpuscles  have  died  in  the  hospitals  of  the  fascia,  omentum, 
and  mesentery,  and  in  proportion  to  the  death  of  the  corpuscles 
so  is  the  supply  of  sputa  deposited  and  coughed  up,  until  the  pu- 
trid bodies  exceed  both  the  able-bodied  and  the  wounded ;  then 
the  vital  powers  yield  in  death  to  universal  putrescence,  a  total 
collapse,  or  to  the  death  of  the  man,  and  he  is  listed  "died  of  pul- 
monary consumption. ' '  I  hope  that  this  method  of  reasoning 
to  the  student  of  osteopathy  will  enable  him  to  reach  further 
back  into  the  cause  that  has  produced  the  effect  that  has  been 
so  little  understood,  so  deadly  in  its  ravages  and  so  extended  in 
its  field  of  destruction  to  the  human  family.  At  this  time  in  our 
investigation  we  will  ask  the  student  to  refresh  his  mind  by 
reviewing  his  anatomy,  looking  very  carefully  to  the  nerve-  and 
blood-supply,  both  superficial,  deep-seated,  and  universal. 

MILIARY  TUBERCULOSIS. 

"A  tubercle  is  a  separate  body  being  enveloped."  All  de- 
scriptions of  a  tubercle  amount  to  about  this,  that  the  tubercle  is 
a  quantity  of  fleshy  substance,  which  may  be  albumen,  fibrin, 
or  any  other  substance  collected  and  deposited  at  one  place 
in  the  human  body,  and  covered  with  a  film  composed  gener- 
ally of  fibrinous  substances,  and  deposited  in  a  spherical  form 
and  separated  from  all  similarly  formed  spheres  by  fascia.  They 
may  be  very  numerous,  for  many  hundreds  may  occupy  one 
cubic  inch,  and  yet  each  one  is  distinct.  They  seem  to  develop 
only  where  fascia  is  abundant,  in  the  lungs,  liver,  bowels,  and 
skin.  After  formation,  they  may  exist  and  show  nothing  but 
roughened  surfaces,  and  when  the  period  of  dissolution  and  the 
solvent  powers  of  the  chemical  laboratory  take  possession  to 
banish  them  from  the  system,  the  work  of  banishment  gener- 
ally begins  when  some  catarrhal  disease  is  preying  upon  the 


112  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

human  system.  Nature  seems  to  make  its  first  effort  at  the 
catarrhal  period  for  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  such  substan- 
ces as  have  accumulated.  At  that  time  it  brings  forward  all 
the  solvent  qualities  and  applies  them,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  motor  force,  to  driving  out  all  irritating  substances  through 
the  bowels,  the  lungs,  and  the  porous  and  excretory  system. 
Electricity  is  called  in  as  the  motor  force  to  be  used  in  expelling 
all  unkindly  substances.  By  this  effort  of  Nature,  which  is  an 
increased  action  of  the  motor  nerves,  electricity  is  brought  to 
the  degree  of  heat  called  fever,  which,  if  better  understood,  we 
would  possibly  find  to  be  the  necessary  heat  of  the  furnace  of 
the  body  to  convert  dead  substances  into  gas,  which  can  travel 
through  the  excretory  system  and  be  thrown  from  the  body 
much  easier  than  water,  lymph,  albumen,  or  fibrin. 

During  this  process  of  gas-burning,  a  very  high  tempera- 
ture is  obtained  by  the  increased  action  of  the  arterial  system 
through  the  motor  nerves,  permeating  the  tubercles  and  caus- 
ing an  inflammation  by  the  gaseous  disturbance  so  produced; 
another  effort  of  Nature  to  convert  those  tubercles  into  gas  and 
relieve  the  body  of  their  presence  and  irritable  occupancy. 

As  an  illustration,  we  will  ask  the  reader  if  he  could  rea- 
sonably expect  to  pass  a  common  towel  through  a  pipestem? 
Nevertheless  Nature  can  easily  do  it.  Confine  the  towel  in  a 
cylinder  and  apply  fire,  which  in  time  will  convert  the  towel  into 
gas  or  smoke,  and  enable  it  to  pass  through  the  stem.  Is  it  not 
just  as  reasonable  to  suppose  those  high  temperatures  of  the 
body  are  Nature's  furnaces,  making  fires  to  burn  out  of  those 
dead  bodies,  while  passing  them  through  the  skin  in  order  to 
get  rid  of  these  substances  that  are  packed  all  through  the  hu- 
man fascia,  and  can  only  be  passed  from  the  body  in  a  gaseous 
form. 

The  blackened  eye  of  the  pugilist  soon  fires  up  its  furnaces 
and  proceeds  to  generate  gas  from  the  dead  blood  that  surrounds 


THE  THORAX.  113 

the  eye.  Though  it  may  be  in  considerable  quantities  under 
the  skin,  the  blood  soon  disappears,  leaving  the  face  and  eye 
normal  to  all  appearances.  No  pus  has  formed,  nor  deposit  left ; 
fever  disappears;  the  eye  is  well.  What  better  effort  could 
Nature  offer  than  through  its  gas-generating  furnace?  I  will 
leave  any  other  method  for  you  to  discover.  I  know  of  none 
that  my  reason  can  grasp. 

When  reason  sees  a  white  corpuscle  in  the  fascia  not  taken 
up  as  a  nutrient,  it  attaches  itself  to  the  fascia  with  all  its  uter- 
ine powers  during  the  time  of  measles  or  other  eruptive  dis- 
eases, and  soon  takes  form  and  is  a  vital  and  durable  being 
whose  name  is  "tubercle."  All  tubercles  are  unappropriated 
substances  whom  Mother  Fascia  has  clothed  and  ordered  in  camp 
for  treatment  and  repairs,  and  has  placed  on  the  list  of  enrolled 
pensioners,  to  draw  on  the  treasury  of  the  fascia  until  death 
shall  discharge  them. 

The  mothers  of  the  human  race  give  birth  to  children  from 
the  time  of  their  puberty  to  sterility.  They  may  give  birth  a 
dozen  times,  but  Nature  finally  calls  a  halt,  and  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  life-sustaining  nerves  of  the  womb  which  are  in  the  fas- 
cia, with  blood  in  great  abundance  to  supply  foetal  life,  ceases 
to  go  farther  with  the  processes  of  building  beings.  Vitality  for 
that  purpose  stops,  never  to  return.  Nature  has  no  longer  a 
demand  for  her  system  to  act  as  a  constructing  cause  for  other 
beings  of  her  kind,  and  she  is  free  the  remainder  of  her  days. 

VARIETY  OP  BIRTHS. 

A  question  arises,  Are  children  the  only  beings  she  can  de- 
velop in  her  system«and  give  birth  to?  No ;  she  can  go  through 
other  processes  of  breeding.  In  her  fascia  there  is  one  seed 
which,  if  vitalized,  will  develop  a  being  called  "measles."  She 
never  has  but  one  confinement.  That  set  of  nerves  that  gave 
support  and  growth  to  measles  died  in  the  delivery  of  the  child, 


114  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

and  never  can  conceive  and  produce  any  more  measles.  An- 
other seed  lives  in  her  fascia  waiting  to  be  vitalized  by  the  male 
principle  of  smallpox,  and  when  it  is  born  it  always  kills  the 
nerves  that  gave  it  life  and  form.  And  the  person  never  can 
have  but  one  such  child  or  being  during  life.  Still  another  seed 
awaits  the  coming  of  the  commissary  to  nourish  while  it  con- 
sumes that  vitality  in  the  fascia  of  the  glands  to  develop  the 
portly  child  we  call  "mumps."  Both  male  and  female  con- 
ceive and  give  birth  to  these  beings,  and  then  tear  up  the  tracks 
and  roads  behind  them,  by  killing  the  demand  for  such  kinds. 

I  want  to  draw  the  mind  of  the  reader  to  the  fact  that  no 
being  can  be  formed  without  material,  a  place  in  which  to  be 
developed,  and  with  all  forces  necessary  for  the  work.  And  as 
all  excrescences  and  abnormal  growths,  diseases,  and  condi- 
tions must  have  the  friendly  assistance  of  the  fascia  before  de- 
velopment, the  fascia  is  the  place  to  look  for  the  cause  of  dis- 
ease and  the  place  to  begin  the  action  of  remedies  in  all  diseases. 

"We  can  arrive  at  truth  only  by  the  powerful  rules  of  rea- 
son," the  philosopher  has  shouted  from  the  housetops  during 
all  these  ages.  He  adjusts  his  many  supposable  causes,  and 
adds  to  and  subtracts  from  until  he  arrives  at  a  conclusion 
based  upon  the  facts  of  his  observations.  We  must  know  the 
principles  that  exist  in  substances  and  seeds  by  which,  when 
associated  with  proper  conditions,  that  powerful  engine  known 
as  "animal  life"  gives  truth,  with  fact  and  motion  as  its  vouch- 
er. We  reason,  if  corn  be  planted  in  moist  and  warm  earth, 
that  action  and  growth  will  present  the  form  of  a  living  stalk  of 
corn,  which  has  existed  in  embryo,  and  still  continues  its  vital 
actions  as  long  as  the  proper  conditions  prevail,  until  the  growth 
and  development  are  completed.  If  you  take  a  seed  in  your 
fingers,  push  it  in  the  ground  and  cover  it  up,  incubation,  growth, 
and  development  is  expected  in  obedience  to  the  law  under 
which  it  serves.  Thus  we  see,  in  order  to  succeed,  we  must 


THE  THORAX.  li.J 

deposit  and  cover  up  the  seed,  that  the  laws  of  gestation  may 
have  an  opportunity  to  get  the  results  desired.  As  Nature  al- 
ways presents  itself  to  our  minds  as  seeds  deposited  in  proper 
soil  and  season,  and  it  is  loyal  to  its  own  laws  only,  we  are  con- 
strained by  this  method  of  reasoning  to  conclude  that  disease 
must  have  a  soil  in  which  to  plant  its  seeds  before  gestation 
and  development.  It  must  have  seasonable  conditions,  the 
rains  of  nourishment,  also  the  necessary  time  required  for  such 
processes.  All  these  laws  must  be  fulfilled  to  the  letter ;  other- 
wise a  failure  is  certain.  As  the  great  laboratory  of  Nature  is 
always  at  work  in  the  human  body,  the  chilling  winds  and  poi- 
sonous breaths,  with  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  at  different  sea- 
sons of  the  year  by  day  and  night,  and  the  lungs  and  skin  are 
continually  secreting  and  excreting  every  minute,  hour,  and 
day  of  our  lives,  is  it  not  resonable  to  suppose  that  we  inhale 
many  elements  that  are  floating  in  the  common  winds  that  con- 
tain the  seeds  of  some  destructive  element,  to  the  harmony  of 
fluids  that  are  necessary  to  sustain  the  healthy  animal  forms? 
Suppose  it  should  start  the  yeast,  or  kind  of  substance  that 
lives  mainly  upon  lime.  If  this  yeast,  in  its  action  and  thirst 
for  food  to  suit  its  life  and  appetite,  should  call  in  from  the 
earth,  water,  and  atmosphere  for  its  daily  food  lime  substances 
only,  and  by  its  power  destroy  all  other  principles  taken  as 
nourishment,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  it  would  deposit 
such  elements  in  overpowering  quantities  in  the  fascia  of  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  lungs,  so  as  to  overcome  the  renovat- 
ing powers  of  the  lungs  and  excretory  system?  This  deposit 
acts  as  an  irritant  to  the  sensory  nerves  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  electricity  of  the  motor  nerves  is  forced  to  take  charge  of 
and  run  the  machinery  of  the  human  body,  with  a  velocity 
sufficient  to  raise  the  temperature  of  the  body,  by  putting  the 
electricity  above  the  normal  action  of  animal  life,  and  thereby 
generate  that  temperature  known  as  fever. 


Il6  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

The  two  extremes,  heat  and  cold,  may  be  the  causes  of 
retention  and  detention.  One  is  detained  by  the  contraction 
of  cold  until  the  blood  and  other  fluids  die  by  asphyxia.  The 
warm  temperature  produces  relaxation  of  the  nerves,  blood, 
and  all  other  vessels  of  the  fascia,  during  which  time  the  arteries 
are  injecting  too  great  quantities  of  fluids  to  be  renovated 
by  the  excretory  system.  Then  you  have  a  cause  for  decom- 
position of  the  blood  and  other  substances.  You  have  a  log- 
ical foundation  and  a  cause  for  all  diseases,  catarrhal  and  cli- 
matic, contagions,  infections,  and  epidemics.  The  fascia  proves 
itself  to  be  the  probable  matrix  of  life  and  death.  When  har- 
monious in  normal  action,  health  is  good ;  when  perverted,  dis- 
ease results. 

LUNG  DISEASES. 

In  America  man  has  dreaded  diseases  of  the  lungs  more 
than  any  other  one  disease.  If  we  compare  pulmonary  dis- 
eases with  other  maladies,  we  find  that  more  persons  die  of 
consumption,  pneumonia,  bronchitis,  and  nervous  coughs  than 
from  smallpox,  typhus  and  bilious  fever,  and  all  other  fevers 
combined.  Many  diseases  of  contagious  nature  stay  in  the 
city  or  country  or  in  an  army  but  a  short  time ;  they  kill  a 
few  and  disappear,  and  may  not  return  for  many  years.  This 
is  the  history  of  yellow  fever,  cholera,  and  other  epidemics. 
They  slay  their  hundreds,  and  cease  as  unceremoniously  as 
they  began.  But  when  we  think  of  diseases  that  begin  to  show 
their  effects  in  tonsils,  trachea,  and  lining  membranes  of  the 
air-passages,  we  find  we  are  in  a  boundless  ocean. 

It  takes  no  great  mind  to  know  from  past  observation 
that  a  common  cold  often  holds  on  and  settles  down  to  chronic 
inflammation  of  the  lungs,  and  the  patient  dies  of  consump- 
tion, croup,  diphtheria,  or  tonsillitis.  Catarrhal  troubles  stay 
and  waste  vitality  by  causing  a  failure  in  oxidation  while  in 


THE  THORAX.  117 

the  lungs.  Diphtheria  paves  the  way  for  the  young  and  old 
to  die  of  consumption.  Vitiated  air  in  dance-halls,  opera-houses, 
churches,  and  school-houses  never  fails  to  inspect  and  deposit 
the  seeds  of  consumption  in  weak  lungs. 

As  one  delves  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  machinery  and 
exacting  laws  of  life,  he  beholds  works  and  workings  of  con- 
tented laborers  of  all  parts  of  one  common  whole,  the  great 
shafts  and  pillars  of  an  engine  working  to  the  fullness  of  the 
meaning  of  perfection.  He  sees  that  great  quartermaster,  the 
heart,  pouring  in  and  loading  train  after  train,  and  giving  orders 
to  the  wagonmaster  to  line  his  teams  and  march  on  quick  time 
to  all  divisions,  supply  all  companies,  squads,  and  sections  with 
rations,  clothing,  ammunition,  surgeons,  splints,  and  bandages, 
and  put  all  the  dead  and  wounded  into  the  ambulances  to 
be  repaired  or  buried  with  military  honors  by  Captain  Vein, 
who  fearlessly  penetrates  the  densest  bones,  muscles,  and  glands 
with  the  living  waters  to  quench  the  thirst  of  the  blue  corpus- 
cles that  are  worn  out  by  doing  fatigue  duty  in  the  great  combat 
between  life  and  death.  He  often  has  to  run  his  trains  on  forced 
marches  to  get  supplies  to  sustain  his  men  when  they  have  had 
to  contend  with  long  sieges  of  heat  and  cold.  Of  all  officers  of 
life,  none  has  greater  duties  to  perform  than  the  quartermaster 
of  the  blood-supply,  who  borrows  from  the  brain,  which  gives 
motion  to  all  parts  of  active  life,  the  force  with  which  he  runs 
his  deliveries. 

FOUND  EFFECTS. 

In  all  ages  the  mind  and  pen  of  man  have  been  content  to 
dwell  and  rest  or  agree  that  the  lungs  generate  tubercles  and 
other  destructive  substances ;  that  a  lung  is  an  insane  suicide ; 
that  it  takes  its  own  life.  The  doctor  analyzes  by  his  chemis- 
try the  substances  coughed  up  from  the  lungs.  He  takes  the 
diseased  lung  to  his  microscope  for  physical  examinations. 


Il8  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

He  finds  knots,  lumps,  and  much  variation  from  the  normal 
lungs  in  cells,  muscles,  tissues,  blood-vessels,  and  nerves,  the 
sensory,  motor,  and  nutrient.  He  finds  great  abnormalities  in 
the  form  and  fluids  of  the  lungs,  and  drops  further  search.  He 
has  found  the  effects,  and  only  charges  all  this  bad  work  to  the 
lungs.  He  knows  he  has  found  the  guilty  party,  and  proceeds 
to  punish.  He  never  asks  why.  He  asks  no  question  about 
the  cause  of  the  lungs  giving  way  and  failing  to  perform  their 
function,  nor  does  the  thought  occur  to  him  that  they  must  be 
helped  by  being  nourished  from  the  lymph  prepared  in  the 
omentum,  pleura,  diaphragm,  and  the  peritoneum  generally. 
He  has  failed  to  ask  why  the  lungs  fail  to  be  normal  when  the 
omentum  is  diseased.  He  seems  to  have  totally  failed  to  see 
that  in  all  cases  of  diseased  lungs  no  perfectly  normal  omentum 
can  be  found,  or  at  least  no  treatise  on  lung  diseases  has  even 
mentioned  that  the  remote  cause  of  consumption  might  be 
traced  to  the  omentum,  or  failure  in  its  functioning  before  dis- 
ease of  the  lung  appeared.  It  seems  to  be  due  to  osteopathy 
that  the  discovery  has  been  made.  In  all  post-mortems  of 
people  who  have  died  from  lung  diseases  and  been  examined  at 
the  American  School  of  Osteopathy,  the  omentum  has  been 
found  to  be  diseased,  torn,  wounded,  cancerous,  or  disabled  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  was  not  possible  to  perform  its  functions. 
We  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  lung  dies  or  fails  to  do  its 
part  normally  when  the  omentum  is  diseased. 

DIGESTION. 

In  our  physiologies  we  read  much  about  digestion.  We  will 
start  in  where  they  stop.  They  bring  us  to  the  lungs  with  chyle 
fresh  as  made  and  placed  in  the  thoracic  duct,  previous  to  flow- 
ing into  the  heart  to  be  transferred  to  the  lungs  to  be  purified, 
charged  with  oxygen,  and  otherwise  qualified,  and  sent  off  for 
duty,  through  the  arteries,  great  and  small,  to  the  various  parts 


THORAJt. 

of  the  system.  But  there  is  nothing  said  of  the  time  when  all 
blood  is  gas,  before  it  is  taken  up  by  the  secretions,  after  refine- 
ment, and  driven  to  the  lungs  to  be  mixed  with  the  old  blood 
from  the  venous  system.  A  few  questions  about  the  blood  seem 
to  hang  around  my  mental  crib  for  food.  Reason  says  we  cannot 
use  blood  before  it  has  all  passed  through  the  gaseous  stage  of 
refinement,  which  reduces  all  material  to  the  lowest  forms  of 
atoms,  before  constructing  any  material  body.  I  think  it  safe 
to  assume  that  all  muscles  and  bones  of  our  body  have  been  in 
the  gas  state  while  in  the  process  of  preparing  substances  for 
blood.  A  world  of  questions  arise  at  this  point. 

The  first  is,  Where  and  how  is  food  made  into  gas  while  in 
the  body?  If  you  will  listen  to  a  dyspeptic  after  eating,  you 
will  wonder  where  he  gets  all  the  wind  that  he  rifts  from  his 
stomach,  and  continues  for  one  or  two  hours  after  each  meal. 
That  gas  is  generated  in  the  stomach  and  intestines,  and  we  are 
led  to  believe  so  because  we  know  of  no  other  place  in  which  it 
can  be  made  and  thrown  into  the  stomach  by  any  tubes  or  other 
methods  of  entry.  Thus,  by  the  evidence  so  far,  the  stom- 
ach and  bowels  are  the  one  place  in  which  this  gas  is  gener- 
ated. I  have  spoken  of  the  stomach  that  generates  and  ejects 
great  quantities  of  gas  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  after  meals. 
This  class  of  people  have  been  called  dyspeptics.  Another  class 
of  the  same  race  of  beings  stand  side  by  side  with  him  without 
this  gas  generating.  They,  too,  eat  and  drink  of  the  same  kind 
of  food,  without  any  of  the  manifestations  that  have  been  de- 
scribed in  the  first  class.  Why  does  one  stomach  blow  off  gas 
continually  while  the  other  does  not?  As  No.  2  throws  off  no 
gas  from  the  stomach  after  eating,  is  this  conclusive  evidence 
that  his  stomach  generates  no  gas?  Or  do  his  stomach  and 
bowels  form  gas  just  as  fast  as  No.  i,  and  the  secretions  of 
the  stomach  and  bowels  take  up  and  retain  the  nutritious  mat- 
ter and  pass  the  remainder  of  the  gas  by  way  of  the  excretory 


120          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

ducts  through  the  skin?  If  the  excretory  ducts  take  up  and 
carry  this  gas  out  of  the  body  by  way  of  the  skin,  and  he  is  a 
healthy  man,  why  not  account  for  the  other  one's  stomach 
ejecting  this  gas  by  way  of  the  mouth,  because  of  the  fact  that 
the  secretions  of  the  stomach  are  either  clogged  up  or  inactive, 
for  want  of  vital  motion  of  the  nerve-terminals  of  the  stomach. 

Another  question  in  connection  with  this  subject,  Why  is 
the  man  whose  stomach  belches  forth  gas  in  such  abundance 
also  suffering  with  cold  feet,  hands,  and  all  over  the  body,  while 
No.  -2  is  quite  warm  and  comfortable,  with  a  glow  of  warmth 
passing  from  his  body  all  the  time? 

With  these  hints  I  will  ask  the  question,  What  is  digestion? 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  DIGESTION. 

All  digestion  is  the  result  of  electric  shocks,  sent  forth  from 
the  brain  by  way  of  the  motor  system  of  nerves.  Such  shocks 
are  in  perpetual  motion  from  the  center  of  the  earth  to  the  soul 
of  the  surface.  Not  only  do  these  shocks  tear  asunder  all  sub- 
stances found  in  the  alimentary  channel,  but  they  impart,  in- 
ject, and  associate  a  moving  principle,  called  vitality.  Yet  it  is 
only  vital  to  the  work  of  decomposition,  selection,  and  associa- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  forming  flesh,  muscle,  sinew,  hair,  teeth, 
and  bone.  The  different  qualities  found  in  the  fluids  of  the 
different  localities,  such  as  brain,  liver,  and  kidneys,  are  effects 
of  those  living  shocks.  The  same  law  is  just  as  applicable  in 
reason  and  as  true  in  effect  in  creating  and  imparting  odors  to 
the  various  glands  in  the  whole  system.  The  heart,  being  the 
center  electro-motor  engine,  at  every  vibration  is  regulated  by 
the  velocity  demanded  to  modify  and  keep  the  electric  battery 
or  the  brain  supplied  with  electricity  to  the  normal  capacity  to 
supply  the  electro-motor,  without  which  some  degree  of  failing 
weakness  is  perceptible  by  beholding  sluggish  action  and  abnor- 
mal quantities  of  deposits  in  some  or  all  parts  of  the  cellular 


THE   THORAX.  121 

system  of  the  lungs,  heart,  stomach,  bowels,  uterus,  lymphat- 
ics of  the  fascia,  and  system  generally. 

THE  HEART. 

Diseases  of  the  chest  are  generally  confined  to  the  lungs, 
heart,  pleura,  the  pericardium,  mediastia,  with  their  blood- 
vessels, nerves,  and  lymphatics.  As  we  open  the  breast  we  be- 
hold the  heart  conveniently  situated  to  throw  blood  to  all  parts 
of  the  body.  From  it  we  see  vessels  or  pipes  that  go  to  all  mus- 
cles and  organs,  the  stomach,  bowels,  liver,  spleen,  kidneys, 
bladder,  womb,  etc.,  and  all  bones,  fibers,  ligaments,  mem- 
branes, lungs,  and  brain.  When  we  follow  the  blood  through 
its  whole  journey  in  feeding  the  different  parts,  be  they  organ 
or  muscle,  we  find  just  enough  unloaded  at  each  station  to  sup- 
ply the  demand  as  fast  as  it  is  consumed.  Thus  life  is  supplied 
at  each  stroke  of  the  heart  with  blood  to  keep  digestion  in  full 
motion  while  other  supplies  of  blood  are  being  made  and  put  in 
channels  to  carry  to  the  heart.  This  blood  is  freely  given  to 
keep  the  channels  strong,  clean,  and  active.  Much  depends  on 
the  heart,  and  great  care  should  be  given  to  its  study,  because 
a  healthy  system  depends  almost  wholly  on  a  normal  heart  and 
lung.  The  study  of  the  framework  of  the  chest  should  be  done 
with  the  greatest  care.  Every  joint  of  the  neck  and  spine  has 
much  to  do  with  a  healthy  heart  and  lung,  because  all  vital 
fluids  pass  through  the  heart  and  lungs,  and  any  slip  of  bone 
or  strain  or  bruise  of  muscle  or  nerve  will  affect  to  some  degree 
the  usefulness  of  that  fluid  in  its  vitality,  when  it  is  appropri- 
ated in  the  place  or  organ  it  should  sustain  in  a  good  healthy 
state.  The  osteopath 's  first  and  last  duty  is  to  look  well  to  a 
healthy  blood-  and  nerve-supply.  He  should  let  his  eye  rest  day 
and  night  on  the  spinal  column,  to  know  if  the  bones  articulate 
truly  in  all  facets  and  other  bearings,  and  never  rest  day  or  night 
until  he  knows  the  spine  is  true  and  in  line  from  atlas  to  sacrum, 


122         PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

with  all  the  ribs  in  perfect  union  with  the  processes  of  the 
spine. 

DEVELOPMENT 

The  heart,  from  the  first  visible  drop  of  blood  to  the  ter- 
mination of  all  its  work  in  the  human  body,  seems  to  follow 
specifications  that  were  wisely  written  and  adapted  to  all  pur- 
poses necessary  to  sustain  animal  life.  If  we  follow  the  blood 
from  the  heart  and  observe  its  first  work  after  giving  form  to 
itself,  we  will  see  two  arteries  passing  off  to  a  distance.  After 
watching  the  action  and  work  of  construction  at  that  place,  we 
find  as  a  result  the  formation  of  the  brain,  which  is  universally 
recognized  as  the  seat  of  the  machinery  that  produces  the  forces 
necessary  to  supply  the  nerves  that  have  their  beginning  in  the 
brain  and  extend  to  every  fiber,  muscle,  organ,  and  ligament 
necessary  to  be  used  in  propelling  the  machinery  of  animal  life. 
Not  only  does  it  provide  for  the  machinery  of  force  that  is  sta- 
tioned at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  heart,  but  it  throws 
out  another  great  river  of  nourishment,  known  as  the  abdom- 
inal aorta,  out  of  which  many  rivers  branch  off  to  supply  and 
sustain  another  great  manufactory,  which  is  located  from  the 
first  lumbar  to  the  end  of  the  sacrum.  This  manufactory  has 
carried  on  its  labors  for  countless  ages,  busily  pounding 
away  at  its  work  of  preparing  the  material  that  supplies  every 
fiber  and  part  of  the  human  body.  No  author  has  been  kind 
enough,  if  wise  enough,  to  give  us  any  information  on  this  great 
and  important  question.  I  wish  to  emphasize  it  very  positively 
and  draw  your  attention,  with  your  minds  separated  from 
all  else,  while  thinking,  to  answer  this  question :  What  would 
be  the  deleterious  effects  on  the  nerves  of  the  kidneys  if  a  sud- 
den fall,  the  feet  slipping  out  directly  in  front,  the  body  still 
erect,  dislocated  the  sacrum  by  the  velocity  of  the  force  against 
the  frozen  ground,  ice,  floor,  stones,  or  any  other  unyielding 


THE  THORAX.  123 

surface?  The  wedge-formed  sacrum  between  the  two  innom- 
inate bones  would  be  driven  downward  toward  the  ischii  one- 
fourth,  one-half,  or  one  whole  inch.  What  effect  would  it  have 
on  the  shape  of  the  coccyx,  the  coccygeal  ligaments  being  fas- 
tened to  the  innominate?  Would  it  not  leave  the  coccyx  bent 
in  and  upward?  What  effect  would  it  have  on  the  sacral 
nerves  ?  the  whole  glandular  system  ?  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
to  and  from  all  parts  below  the  crura?  At  this  point  I  want  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  location  and  function  of  the  cauda 
equina,  the  crura,  the  solar  plexus,  the  sympathetic  nerves  gen- 
erally of  the  abdomen,  the  nerves  of  sensation,  motion,  and  nu- 
trition, the  nerves  of  the  pancreas,  the  spleen,  liver,  and  blad- 
der, the  lymphatics,  the  cellular  system,  the  receptaculum 
chyli,  the  pudic  nerves,  the  nerves  of  the  uterus,  and  all  nerves 
of  the  generative  system  of  either  male  or  female.  Does  not  your 
compass  of  reason  conduct  you  to  a  cause  of  Bright's  disease  of 
the  kidneys,  monthly  disturbances,  enlargement  of  the  ovaries 
by  stagnated  blood  to  the  degree  of  hardened  deposits,  to 
growths  of  enormous  size  of  the  various  organs  of  the  abdomen, 
such  as  the  liver,  kidneys,  spleen,  and  so  on?  Have  you  ever 
observed  that  the  woman  with  monthly  convulsions  has  a 
sacrum  twisted  or  driven  from  its  normal  position  by  blowss 
falls,  or  otherwise? 

I  can  refer  you  to  no  author  on  this  subject  whose  pen  has 
ever  described  this  arrangement  as  being  the  parent  cause  of 
hundreds  of  diseases  and  malformations,  from  the  ponderous 
fibroid  tumor  to  the  rose  cancer  of  the  bladder  or  uterus.  Here 
I  wish  to  draw  your  attention  to  the  duty  of  the  various  nerves 
found  situated  and  distributed  from  one  extremity  of  the  ab- 
domen to  the  other. 

HEART  DISEASE. 

In  speaking  of  diseases  of  the  heart  and  remedies  therefor, 
I  think  it  best  to  give  the  student  a  knowledge  of  what  is  re- 


124         PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

ceived  and  practiced  by  the  medical  profession  as  found  in  text- 
books of  practitioners  of  the  drug  system.  For  this  purpose  I 
will  quote  in  full  from  the  "American  Text-Book  on  Therapeu- 
tics," by  Wilson,  on  diseases  of  the  heart:  "In  all  acute  affec- 
tions of  the  heart,  therapy  can  be  looked  upon,  first,  as  casual ; 
secondly,  as  symptomatic.  Nearly  all  inflammatory  conditions 
of  the  pericardium  are  secondary,  and,  as  the  cause  of  such  con- 
ditions has  already  become  operative,  the  field  of  treatment  is 
limited  to  the  prevention  of  further  damage  from  the  primary 
cause  (and  is  in  so  far  then  casual),  the  relief  of  suffering  and 
other  symptoms,  and  finally  the  prevention  of  death,  which 
may  result  either  from  the  operation  of  the  original  cause  or 
from  ensuing  complications." 

IN  THE  DARK. 

I  do  this  to  show  the  osteopath  that  one  of  the  most  learned 
authors  speaks  about  all  that  is  offered  for  the  student  of  med- 
icine to  guide  him  in  his  practice.  He  begins  in  conjectures  of 
cause,  such  as  rheumatism,  which  you  know  is  an  effect,  com- 
ing from  the  failure  of  the  heart  to  deliver  blood  in  living  quan- 
tity to  the  joints  and  vicinity.  At  this  point  he  raises  his  club 
and  bangs  away  in  the  dark  for  want  of  knowledge  of  the  cause. 
He  begins  by  advising  the  shoveling  in  of  mercury,  digitalis, 
opium,  calomel,  acids,  alkalies,  stimulants,  and  sedatives,  and 
so  on  to  the  ice-bag,  hot  pack,  blood-letting,  or  venesection. 
Has  he  said  anything  that  he  can  swear  by?  Has  he  said  any- 
thing that  you  can  go  by?  He  leaves  you  a  blank,  because 
his  diagnosis  and  treatment  are  blanks  also.  After  having 
read  his  "able"  definition,  and  knowing  that  you  do  know  some- 
thing of  anatomy  and  physiology,  I  will  say  that  you  know  too 
much  anatomy  and  physiology  and  the  results  gained  by  oste- 
opathy to  be  satisfied  to  go  into  the  treatment  of  the  diseases 
of  the  heart  with  no  knowledge  of  diseases  or  the  drugs  you  are 


THE  THORAX.  125 

about  to  administer.  On  that  line  you  travel  without  hope. 
Right  here,  as  osteopaths,  we  will  take  up  the  heart  and  see  if 
we  know  the  responsible  duties  it  has  to  perform  as  headquar- 
ters of  the  blood-supply.  I  do  not  wish  to  consume  your  time 
unnecessarily  in  a  lengthy  description  of  the  heart  and  the  mil- 
lions of  rivers  it  supplies,  with  all  of  which  you  have  been  made 
acquainted  by  descriptive  and  demonstrative  anatomy,  his- 
tology, and  physiology.  We  feel  the  importance  of  asking  you 
to  refresh  your  memories  once  more  by  a  vivid  mental  painting 
of  the  whole  arterial  system,  both  great  and  small,  that  you 
may  be  the  better  able  to  think  with  me  as  I  present  the  subject. 

CAUSES. 

At  this  time  we  will  introduce  the  subject  of  "heart  dis- 
eases" and  the  mechanico-physiological  causes.  We  will  try  to 
arrive  at  some  reasonable  conclusion  as  to  the  cause  of  intermit- 
tent heart,  heart  of  great  commotion  or  palpitation,  heart  of 
feeble  force,  and  all  those  conditions  which  would  produce 
effects  known  as  "  heart  disease."  They  are  described  by  an- 
cient and  modern  writers  under  many  names,  such  as  angina 
pectoris,  valvular  disturbances,  and  many  other  names.  But 
all  previous  writings  end  with  "ifs,"  "buts,"  and  a  few  "how- 
evers"  and  "possiblies,"  without  a  single  rock  for  the  doctor  to 
stand  on.  The  student  of  medicine  goes  forth  with  his  diplo- 
ma under  his  arm  and  begins  a  new  life  of  guessing  at  cause  and 
cures,  with  both  eyes  goggled  by  ignorance  of  the  diseases  he 
meets.  He  blindly  begins  to  experiment  with  the  drugs  of 
which  he  has  no  knowledge,  so  far  as  their  effects  are  known  hi 
heart  disease.  He  is  ordered  and  instructed  by  his  preceptor 
to  use  calomel  freely  and  frequently,  morphine  and  digitalis 
with  caution,  venesection  with  caution,  and  so  on,  and  to  be 
patient  with  his  patients ;  they  may  get  well  anyhow. 

Suppose  we  stop  and  camp  at  this  place,  light  our  pipes 


126          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

and  take  a  good  social  smoke,  and  ask  our  venerable  old  "med- 
icine-man" what  object  he  had  in  prescribing  the  deadly  mer- 
cury, digitalis,  or  morphine  in  case  of  heart  disease.  At  this 
time  we  will  saddle  up  our  horses  and  go  on.  The  old  doctor 
has  told  us  very  kindly  that  he  made  use  of  these  remedies 
because  they  have  long  been  used  by  the  doctors,  who  did  not 
know  anything  about  cause  and  effect. 

Now  I  have  given  you  the  sum  total  of  the  procedure  of 
the  medical  practitioners  of  the  past  up  to  the  present  date, 
with  their  acknowledgment  that  they  do  not  know  the  cause  of 
the  disease  nor  the  effect  of  the  drug  they  have  been  free  to 
administer,  with  all  the  dignity  and  wise  looks  that  could  be 
painted  to  represent  an  angelic  philosopher. 

A  FEW  FACTS. 

With  the  limited  knowledge  that  I  have  of  anatomy  and 
physiology,  I  feel  some  degree  of  boldness  and  pleasure  in  pre- 
senting my  views  of  mechanico-physiological  cause  of  heart  dis- 
eases, which  I  think  I  can  present  to  you  in  a  simple  and  philo- 
sophical manner,  clear  enough  that  with  your  knowledge  of 
anatomy  you  will  concede  that  I  have  given  you  the  only  true 
foundation  on  which  heart-disturbances  can  be  clearly  traced 
to  the  causes  of  commotions  called  palpitation,  angina  pecto- 
ris,  and  the  whole  column  of  heart  diseases.  We  will  begin  by 
supposition.  Suppose  hi  a  person  in  perfect  health,  anatom- 
ically and  physiologically  perfect  in  all  parts  and  functions,  we 
find  the  heart  infinitely  correct  in  receiving  and  discharging 
blood  in  quantities  just  enough,  with  force  exactly  equal  to  all 
demands.  In  this  picture  of  life  we  see  the  engine  in  motion, 
count  the  strokes,  and  record  them  at  seventy  per  minute. 
At  this  time  we  begin  in  a  small  way  to  experiment  with  the 
body,  which  this  engine  supplies,  by  tying  a  cord  around  one 
of  the  little  toes,  the  body  lying  in  exactly  the  same  position  as 


THE  THORAX.  127 

when  the  heart-beat  was  timed  and  recorded  at  seventy.  Would 
we  expect  to  find  or  would  we  have  reason  to  expect  the  heart 
to  make  seventy  strokes,  no  more,  no  less,  in  motion  or  energy  ? 
If  we  find  seventy-one  beats  to  be  the  number  per  minute  with 
a  small  artery  stopped  by  ligation  of  one  little  toe,  what  would 
be  the  number  of  beats  with  two  toes  tied?  Suppose  we  take 
the  strings  off  the  toes  and  the  heart  falls  back  to  seventy ;  then 
drive  a  shingle-nail  through  one  toe.  Would  you  be  surprised 
if  the  heart  made  seventy-five  beats?  Then  drive  a  nail  through 
the  other  little  toe.  Would  you  be  surprised  to  see  the  heart 
running  eighty  beats  per  minute?  One  was  simple  stoppage  of 
blood  by  a  cord,  the  other  a  wound  which  produced  contracture 
of  muscles,  ligaments,  and  blood-vessels  to  a  greater  degree 
than  the  ligation  did.  I  think  any  man  with  anatomical  and 
physiological  knowledge  will  be  able  to  reason  and  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  an  obstruction  in  the  least  toe,  and  that  at  the 
greatest  distance  from  the  heart,  disturbs  its  regularity  and  pul- 
sation, that  other  causes  of  irritation  and  stoppage  of  either 
arterial  or  venous  blood  will  also  cause  demands  that  the  heart 
use  greater  energy  to  force  blood  through  the  involved  channels, 
just  in  proportion  to  the  resistance  it  has  to  meet.  When  the 
heart  has  overlabored  for  many  days  and  months  to  force  blood 
through  compressed  arteries  and  veins,  would  it  not  be  reason- 
able and  would  it  not  be  safe  to  conclude  that  when  a  heart  had 
labored  to  exhaustion  it  would  tire  out,  quiver,  and  palpitate? 
I  will  ask  your  indulgence  and  a  little  more  patience.  I  began 
at  the  little  toe  with  the  view  of  giving  you  a  homoeopathic  dose 
on  obstructed  circulation  as  evidence  of  the  cause  for  heart 
disturbance.  We  will  now  commence  on  a  larger  scale.  We 
have  to  deal  with  the  allopathic  "czar"  of  ignorance.  It  is 
not  supposable  that  he  has  time  to  dabble  with  the  little  blood- 
vessels, and  one  at  a  time.  We  will  hit  him,  if  we  can  at  all  with 
reason,  with  the  anatomical  fact  that  numerous  arteries  are 


128  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

thrown  off  from  the  aorta  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  certain 
demands,  and  that  by  jars,  twists,  strains,  and  a  world  of  acci- 
dents that  the  human  body  is  liable  to  meet  and  pass  through, 
he  may  have  one,  ten,  or  even  all  of  his  ribs  pushed  down,  up, 
out,  or  in,  so  as  to  obstruct  any  or  all  of  the  intercostal  arteries, 
veins,  and  nerves.  In  this  deformity  would  he  suspect  that 
rheumatism  was  the  cause  of  the  unnatural  labor  and  misery  of 
the  man's  heart?  I  think  if  this  venerable  old  sage  will  con- 
sult his  anatomy,  he  will  find  that  this  philosophy  has  a  foun- 
dation in  truth,  with  Nature  and  all  its  works  as  a  voucher,  and 
that  arterial  obstruction  precedes  all  variations  from  the  nor- 
mal action  of  the  heart.  As  you  have  had  your  mind  refreshed 
upon  the  mechanical  causes  that  will  produce  trouble  of  the 
heart  unto  death,  I  will  tell  you  a  few  things  to  assist  you  in  your 
work  when  called  to  treat  persons  laboring  under  diseases  of  the 
heart.  Carefully  explore  the  neck,  with  its  union  to  the  head, 
and  ascertain  positively  that  every  joint  in  the  neck  is  perfect 
at  all  bearings  with  other  joints,  and  that  all  the  muscles  are  free 
from  entanglement  with  other  muscles  and  processes  of  the 
neck.  A  slipped  bone  of  the  neck  will  limit  the  passage  of  the 
vertebral  artery  on  its  way  from  the  heart  to  the  brain.  If  the 
artery  is  obstructed  in  the  bones  of  the  neck,  a  disturbed  heart 
will  follow  as  one  of  the  effects.  If  all  joints  have  been  found 
normal  in  the  neck  and  nothing  found  there  that  could  obstruct 
an  artery,  we  will  begin  with  the  first  rib  as  it  articulates  with 
the  first  dorsal  vertebra,  ascertaining  whether  it  is  normal  in 
position  with  the  spine  and  transverse  articulation.  You  may 
find  that  rib  pulled  forward  enough  to  close  the  vertebral  fora- 
men and  stop  the  vertebral  artery  at  that  point.  If  so,  you 
will  find  commotion  and  irregularity  of  the  heart's  action.  If 
we  find  nothing  wrong  at  the  first  ribs,  we  may  find  a  serious 
luxation  of  the  second,  third,  or  fourth  ribs,  which  may  shut  off 
the  intercostal  branches.  When  the  heart  brings  the  blood  to 


THE  THORAX.  129 

supply  the  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  ribs  of  either  side  and 
is  met  by  intercostal  spaces  impinged  upon  by  twists,  strains, 
or  dislocations  of  the  ribs,  another  positive  cause  of  heart- 
disturbance  is  established,  and  the  heart  will  give  that  peculiar 
long  and  heavy  stroke  in  its  effort  to  supply  intercostal  arteries. 
In  our  process  of  reasoning  we  will  surely  be  sustained  in  the 
conclusion  that  all  so-called  heart  diseases  are  only  so  many 
effects,  with  each  effect  having  a  cause  in  blood  being  sup- 
pressed at  some  point,  which  is  the  cause  of  the  effect  known  as 
valvular,  nervous,  and  other  "  diseases  of  the  heart." 

I  think  we  have  said  enough  on  the  philosophy  and  causes 
of  heart  trouble  to  be  easily  understood  by  the  pupils  of  my 
school,  with  their  thorough  understanding  of  anatomy,  which 
I  trust  they  will  wisely  apply  in  treating  heart  diseases. 

ANEURISMS. 

Some  arteries  are  enlarged  to  enormous  sizes.  We  call 
them  aneurisms  or  accommodation-chambers  for  deposits  of 
blood.  The  artery  should  pass  farther  on ;  thus  you  must  know 
by  reason  an  obstruction  has  limited  the  flow  of  the  blood,  and 
a  tumor  is  an  effect,  and  obstruction  is  the  cause  of  all  abnormal 
deposits,  either  from  vein  or  artery.  Unobstructed  blood  can- 
not form  a  tumor,  nor  allow  inharmony  to  dwell  in  any  part  of 
the  system.  Flux  is  an  effect  caused  by  a  variation  in  blood - 
supply  and  circulation.  Blood  finds  veins  of  the  abdomen  irri- 
tated and  contracted  to  such  a  degree  that  it  cannot  enter  the 
veins  with  its  cargo  and  deposits  it  at  terminal  points  in  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  bowels.  When  the  membrane  fails  to 
hold  the  blood  so  delivered,  then  the  first  blood  which  dies  of 
asphyxia  finds  an  outlet  into  the  bowels,  to  be  carried  off  and 
out  by  peristaltic  action.  Thus  you  have  a  continuous  deposit 
and  discharge  of  blood  until  death  stops  the  supply. 


130         PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

RHEUMATISM. 

Before  pain  begins  at  the  joints,  you  are  sure  to  find  that 
all  gas  or  wind  has  left  the  joints.  Thus,  electricity  burns  be- 
cause of  bone  friction.  Some  gas  must  be  between  all  bone 
joints.  Thus  we  find  great  use  for  atmospheric  pressure  to 
hold  bones  far  enough  apart  to  let  the  "joint  water"  pass  freely 
over  the  opposing  ends  of  bones.  There  is  a  natural  demand  for 
gas  in  all  healthy  joints  of  the  body.  Reason  leads  us  to  believe 
that  gas  is  constantly  being  conveyed  to  or  generated  in  all 
joints.  Before  rheumatism  appears  the  separating  gas  has  been 
exhausted,  and  there  follows  friction  and  electric  heat  because  of 
there  being  two  or  more  joints  in  one  electric  circuit  or  division, 
in  place  of  the  bone  or  bones  between  two  or  more  articulating 
ends  of  a  bone,  or  more  bones  thrown  into  the  battery,  in  place 
of  each  division  being  independent  while  in  functional  action  in 
its  own  division.  By  way  of  explanation  I  will  take  the  thigh- 
bone, at  the  socket  or  knee  articulation,  filled  with  fluids  and 
gas.  Bind  the  bones  by  ligaments  or  membranes  so  as  to  hold  the 
bones  in  place,  with  a  chamber  to  hold  joint  fluids.  Would  it 
be  complete  without  gas  pressure  to  hold  the  bones  from  press- 
ing so  closely  together  as  to  cause  friction  and  heat  to  cause 
an  electric  action  equal  to  nerve-poison?  We  thus  get  what 
we  call  neuralgia,  rheumatism,  sciatica,  and  so  on  to  the 
full  list  of  aches  and  pains  not  accounted  for  to  date  by  our 
philosophers.  Let  us  ask,  if  we  force  the  hard  ends  of  two  bones 
together,  as  we  do  in  jumping  from  elevations,  with  nothing  to 
modify  the  concussions,  will  the  bones  not  be  bruised  or  mashed 
enough  to  become  irritated  if  not  protected  by  fluids  and  gas? 
Then  if  that  will  be  the  case,  how  can  we  reason  better  than  to 
conclude  that  by  contracting  the  ligaments  at  joints  and  hold- 
ing air  in  that  ligamentous  sheath,  the  air  will  prevent  the 
ends  of  the  bones  from  meeting  with  a  rushing  force.  We  must 


THE  THORAX.  13! 

be  prepared  to  take  care  of  those  bones  so  as  not  to  receive 
destructive  injuries.  Will  not  such  gasless  joints  be  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fat  man?  also  of  the  lean  condition? 

On  this  plane  of  reason  many  rich  harvests  await  the  sickle 
of  reason.  On  this  plane  you  can  see  and  know  the  "  whys" 
of  consumption,  dropsy,  tumors,  fits,  gray  hair,  baldness,  and 
so  on  to  a  surprising  number  of  diseases. 

THE  INTERNAL  AND  EXTERNAL  MAMMARY  ARTERIES. 

A  confused  and  suspended  circulation,  either  of  the  arterial, 
venous,  or  lymphatic  circulation,  or  a  disturbance  of  the  nerves 
of  either  the  arterial,  venous,  or  lymphatic  circulation  of  the 
mammary  glands,  would  be  cause  sufficient  to  draw  the  attention 
of  the  osteopathic  diagnostician  to  a  very  careful  investigation 
of  the  causes  of  diseases  of  these  glands.  He  should  know  that 
the  mammary  artery  is  not  oppressed  or  disturbed  by  ribs  that 
have  been  pushed  or  knocked  from  their  articulation  with  the 
sternum  or  spine,  before  he  would  be  justified  in  giving  a  scien- 
tific diagnosis  of  the  cause  of  tumors  of  the  breast,  goitre,  dis- 
eases of  the  tonsils,  the  glands  and  lymphatics  of  the  neck  or 
breast,  the  eyes,  or  the  giving  way  of  important  functions  of  any 
organ,  internal  or  external,  of  the  whole  chest.  We  must 
remember  that  the  internal  mammary  is  a  very  long  artery,  be- 
ginning at  the  first  rib  and  extending  to  the  pelvis.  Much  good 
health  depends  upon  its  good  work,  and  much  bad  health  and 
disturbance  can  reasonably  be  expected  to  follow  imperfect 
supply  by  arterial  action  or  imperfect  drainage  through  the 
venous  and  lymphatic  vessels.  Therefore  we  have  a  natural 
admonition  to  give  the  subject  a  deep  and  thorough  investiga- 
tion for  mechanical  variations  from  the  true  and  normal.  The 
length  and  width  of  the  territory  through  which  this  river  of 
life  travels  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  organs,  glands,  mem- 
branes, and  muscles  is  a  standing  evidence  to  its  importance 
to  life. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


The  Diaphragm. 

NEW  DISCOVERIES. 

Previous  to  all  discoveries  there  exists  the  demand  for  the 
discovery.  Any  discovery  is  an  open  question  for  a  time  and 
free  to  all,  because  in  some  new  fact  all  are  interested.  The 
lack  of  something  may  be  felt  and  spoken  of  by  agriculturists, 
and  inquiry  directed  to  a  better  plow,  a  better  sickle  or  mow- 
ing-machine with  which  to  reap  standing  grain.  The  thinker 
reduces  his  thoughts  to  practice,  and  cuts  the  grain,  leaving  it 
in  a  condition  that  a  raker  is  needed  to  bunch  it  previous  to 
binding.  His  victory  is  heralded  to  the  world  as  the  king  of 
the  harvest,  and  so  accepted.  The  discoverer  says,  "  I  wish  I 
could  bunch  that  grain."  He  begins  to  reason  from  the  great 
principle  of  cause  and  effect,  and  sleeps  not  until  he  has  added 
to  his  discovery  an  addition  so  ingeniously  constructed  that  it 
will  drop  the  grain  in  bunches  ready  for  the  binder.  The  dis- 
coverer stands  by  and  sees  in  the  form  of  a  human  being,  hands, 
arms,  and  a  band.  He  watches  the  motion;  then  starts  in  to 
rustle  with  cause  and  effect  again.  He  thinks  day  and  night, 
and  by  the  genius  of  thought  produces  a  machine  to  bind  the 
grain.  By  this  time  another  suggestion  arises,  how  to  separate 
the  wheat  as  the  machine  journeys  in  its  cutting  process.  To  his 
convictions  nothing  will  solve  this  problem  but  mental  action. 
He  thinks  and  dreams  of  cause  and  effect.  His  mind  seems  to 
forget  all  the  words  of  his  mother  tongue  except  "  cause"  and 
"  effect."  He  talks  and  preaches  cause  and  effect  in  so  many 


THE   DIAPHRAGM.  133 

places  that  his  associates  begin  to  think  he  is  failing  mentally 
and  will  soon  be  a  subject  for  the  asylum.  He  becomes  dis- 
gusted with  their  lack  of  appreciation,  seeks  seclusion,  and 
formulates  the  desired  addition  and  threshes  the  grain  ready 
for  the  bag.  He  has  solved  the  question  and  proved  to  his 
neighbors  that  the  asylum  was  built  for  them  and  not  for  him. 
With  cause  and  effect,  which  are  ever  before  the  philosopher's 
eye,  he  plows  the  ocean  regardless  of  the  furious  waves,  and  he 
dreads  not  the  storm  on  the  seas,  because  he  has  constructed 
his  vessel  with  a  resistance  superior  to  the  force  of  the  lashing 
waves  of  the  ocean,  and  the  world  scores  him  another  victory. 
He  opens  his  mouth  and  says,  "  By  the  law  of  cause  and  effect, 
I  will  talk  to  my  mother,  who  is  hundreds  of  miles  away." 
He  disturbs  her  rest  by  the  rattling  of  a  little  bell  in  her  room. 
Tremblingly,  the  aged  mother  approaches  the  telephone  and 
asks,  "  Who  is  there?"  The  answer  comes,  "  It  is  I,  Jimmie." 
Then  he  asks,  "  To  whom  am  I  talking?"  She  says,  "  Mrs.  Mary 
Murphy."  The  reply  comes,  "  God  bless  you,  mother;  I  am  at 
Galveston,  Texas,  and  you  are  in  Boston,  Massachusetts."  She 
laughs  and  cries  with  joy;  he  hears  every  emotion  of  her  trem- 
bling voice  as  she  says  to  him :  "  You  have  succeeded  at  last.  I 
have  never  doubted  your  final  success,  notwithstanding  the 
neighbors  have  annoyed  me  almost  to  death,  telling  me  you 
would  land  in  the  asylum,  because  no  man  could  talk  so  as  to 
be  heard  a  thousand  miles  away;  his  lungs  were  too  weak  and 
his  tongue  too  short." 

"EUREKA!" 

I  have  given  you  a  long  introduction  previous  to  giving  you 
the  cause  of  disease,  with  the  philosophy  of  cause  and  effect.  I 
think  it  absolutely  clear  and  the  effect  so  unerring  in  its  results 
that  with  Pythagoras  I  can  say,  "Eureka!" 

To  find  a  general  cause  for  disease,  one  that  will  stand  the 


134     PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

most  rigid  and  vigorous  direct  and  cross-examination  of  the 
high  courts  of  cool-headed  reason,  has  been  the  mental  effort 
of  all  doctors  and  healers  since  time  began  its  record.  Doctors 
have  had  to  treat  disease  as  best  they  could,  by  methods  that 
custom  had  established  as  the  best,  notwithstanding  the  fail- 
ures and  great  mortality  under  their  system  of  treatment.  They 
have  not  felt  justified  to  go  beyond  the  rules  of  symptomatol- 
ogy as  adopted  by  their  schools,  with  diagnosis,  prognosis,  and 
treatment.  Should  they  digress  from  the  rules  of  the  "ethics 
of  the  profession,"  they  would  lose  the  brotherly  love  and  sup- 
port of  the  medical  associations,  under  the  belief  that  "a  bad 
name  is  as  bad  as  death  to  a  dog." 

MEDICAL  DOCTOR. 

The  medical  practitioner  says  that  in  union  there  is  safety, 
and  resolves  to  stick  to  this,  and  live  and  do  as  his  school  has 
disciplined  all  its  pupils,  with  this  command:  "  The  day  thou 
eatest  anything  else,  thou  shalt  surely  die.  Stick  to  the 
brotherhood." 

The  explorer  for  truth  must  first  declare  his  independence 
of  all  obligations  and  brotherhoods  of  any  kind  whatsoever. 
He  must  be  free  to  reason  and  think.  He  must  establish  his 
observatory  upon  hills  of  his  own ;  he  must  establish  them  above 
the  imaginary  high  planes  of  rulers,  kings,  professors,  and 
schools  of  all  kinds  and  denominations.  He  must  be  the  czar 
of  his  own  mental  empire,  unincumbered  with  anything  that 
will  annoy  him  while  he  makes  his  observations.  I  believe  the 
reasons  are  so  plain,  so  easily  comprehended,  the  facts  in  their 
support  so  brilliant,  that  I  will  offer  them,  though  I  be  slaugh- 
tered on  the  altar  of  bigotry  and  intolerance.  This  philoso- 
phy is  not  intended  for  minds  not  thoroughly  well  posted  by 
dissection  and  otherwise  on  the  whole  human  anatomy.  You 
must  know  its  physiological  laboratories  and  workings,  with  the 


THE  DIAPHRAGM.  135 

brain  as  the  battery,  the  lungs  as  the  machine  that  renovates 
the  blood,  and  the  heart  as  the  living  engine  or  quartermaster, 
whose  duty  is  to  supply  the  commissaries  with  blood  and  other 
fluids  to  all  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  the  body,  which  is 
engaged  in  producing  material  suited  to  the  production  of  bone 
and  muscle  and  all  other  substances  necessary  to  keep  the 
machinery  of  life  in  full  force  and  action. 

Without  this  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  reader,  the 
words  of  this  philosophy  will  come  out  as  blanks  before  reach- 
ing his  magazine  of  reason.  This  is  addressed  to  the  inde- 
pendent man  or  woman  that  can,  does,  and  will  reason. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SPL,ANCHNICS. 

Let  us  halt  at  the  origin  of  the  splanchnics  and  take  a  look. 
At  this  point  we  see  the  lower  branches,  sensation,  motion,  and 
nutrition,  all  slant  from  above  the  diaphragm,  pointing  to  the 
solar  plexus,  which  sends  off  branches  to  the  pudic  and  sacral 
plexuses  of  sensory  systems  of  nerves,  just  at  the  position 
to  join  the  life-giving  ganglia  of  the  sacrum  with  orders  from 
the  brain  to  keep  the  process  of  blood-forming  in  full  motion  all 
the  time.  A  question  arises :  How  is  this  motion  supplied,  and 
from  where  ?  The  answer  is :  By  the  brain  as  the  nerve-supply 
and  the  heart  as  the  blood-supply,  both  of  which  come  from 
above  the  diaphragm,  to  keep  all  the  machinery  in  form  and 
supplied  with  motion,  that  it  may  be  able  to  generate  chyle  to 
send  back  to  the  heart,  to  be  formed  into  blood  and  thrown 
back  into  the  arteries  for  the  construction  of  the  parts  as  need- 
ed and  to  keep  the  brain  fed  up  to  its  normal  power-generating 
needs.  We  see  above  the  diaphragm  the  heart,  lungs,  and 
brain,  the  three  sources  of  blood-  and  nerve-supply.  All  three 
are  guarded  by  strong  walls,  that  they  may  do  their  part  in 
keeping  up  the  life  supplies  as  far  as  blood-  and  nerve-force  is 
required.  But  as  they  generate  no  blood-  or  nerve-material, 


136          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

they  must  take  the  place  of  manufactories  and  purchase  mate- 
rial from  a  foreign  land,  to  have  an  abundance  all  the  time. 
We  see  that  Nature  has  placed  its  manufactories  above  a  given 
line  in  the  breast,  and  develops  the  crude  material  below  that 
line.  Now,  as  growth  means  motion  and  supply,  we  must  com- 
bine these  departments  in  a  friendly  way,  and  conduct  the  force 
from  above  to  the  regions  below  the  septum  or  diaphragm,  that 
we  may  use  the  powers  as  needed.  This  wall  must  have  open- 
ings to  let  the  blood  and  nerves  penetrate  with  their  supply  and 
force  to  do  the  work  of  manufacturing. 

After  all  this  has  been  done,  and  a  twist,  pressure,  or  ob- 
structing fold  should  appear  from  any  cause,  would  we  not  have 
a  cut-off  in  the  machinery  returning  chyle  and  lymph,  sensa- 
tion to  supply  vitality,  and  in  the  venous  motion  to  carry  off 
arterial  supply  that  has  been  driven  from  the  heart  above? 
Have  we  not  found  a  cause  to  stop  all  processes  of  life  below  the 
diaphragm?  In  short,  are  we  not  in  a  condition  to  soon  be  in 
a  state  of  complete  stagnation?  As  soon  as  the  arteries  have 
filled  the  venous  system,  which  is  without  sensation  to  return 
the  blood  to  the  heart,  then  the  heart  can  do  nothing  but  wear 
out  its  energies  trying  to  drive  blood  into  a  dead  territory  below 
the  diaphragm  known  as  the  venous  system.  It  is  dead  until 
sensation  reaches  the  vein  from  the  solar,  sacral,  and  pudic 
plexuses. 

THE  DIAPHRAGM  IN  HEALTH. 

At  this  point  we  will  again  take  up  the  diaphragm,  which 
separates  the  heart,  lungs,  and  brain  from  the  organs  of  life 
that  are  limited  to  the  abdomen  and  pelvis.  What  has  the 
diaphragm  to  do  with  good  or  bad  health?  We  will  analyze 
the  diaphragm.  We  will  examine  its  construction  and  its  uses. 
We  will  examine  its  openings  through  which  the  blood  passes. 
We  will  examine  the  opening  through  which  food  passes  to  "the 


THE   DIAPHRAGM.  137 

stomach.  We  will  carefully  examine  the  passages  or  openings 
for  nerve-supply  to  the  abdomen  below,  running  this  great 
system  of  chemistry,  which  is  producing  the  various  kinds  of 
substances  necessary  to  the  hard  and  soft  parts  of  the  body. 
We  must  know  the  nerve-supply  of  the  lymphatics,  womb,  liver, 
pancreas,  kidneys,  the  generative  organs,  what  they  are,  what 
they  do,  and  what  is  demanded  of  them,  before  we  are  able  to 
feed  our  own  minds  from  the  cup  that  contains  the  essence  of 
reason  as  expressed  by  the  tree  of  life. 

The  diaphragm  surely  gives  much  food  for  one  who  would 
search  for  the  great  "  whys  "  of  disease.  It  may  help  us  to 
arrive  at  some  facts  if  we  take  each  organ  and  division  and 
make  a  full  acquaintance  with  all  its  parts  and  uses  before  we 
combine  it  with  others. 

he  medical  doctor  has,  owing  to  a  lack  of  knowledge  of 
the  true  causes  of  diseases,  combated  effects  with  his  remedies. 
He  treats  pain  with  remedies  to  deaden  pain ;  congestion  by  an 
effort  to  wash  out  overplus  of  blood  that  has  been  carried  to 
parts  or  organs  of  the  body  by  arteries  of  blood  and  channels 
of  secretions,  and  not  taken  up  and  passed  off  and  out  by  the 
excretories.  He  sees  the  abnormal  sizes  and  leaves  the  hunting 
of  the  cause  that  has  given  growth  to  such  proportions,  and 
begins  to  seek  rest  and  ease  for  his  patient.  Then  he  calls  on 
medicine  to  carry  the  waste  fluids  to  the  bowels,  bladder,  and 
skin,  with  tonics  to  give  strength,  and  stimulants  to  increase 
the  action  of  the  heart,  in  order  to  force  local  deposits  to  the 
general  excretory  system.  At  this  time  let  the  osteopathic 
doctor  take  a  close  hunt  for  any  fold  in  the  muscles  of  the  sys- 
tem that  would  cut  off  the  normal  supply  of  blood,  or  suspend 
the  action  of  nerves  whose  office  is  to  give  power  and  action  to 
the  excretory  system  sufficient  to  keep  the  dead  matter  carried 
off  as  fast  as  it  accumulates.  Let  us  stop  and  acquaint  ourselves 
with  the  true  conditions  of  the  diaphragm.  It  must  be  normal 


138  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

in  place,  as  it  is  so  situated  that  it  will  admit  of  no  abnormality. 
It  must  be  kept  stretched,  just  as  Nature  intended  it  should  be, 
like  a  drumhead.  It  is  attached  all  around  to  the  chest,  though 
it  crosses  five  or  six  ribs  on  its  descent  from  the  seventh  rib  to 
the  sternum  at  the  lower  point  and  down  to  the  fourth  lumbar 
vertebra.  It  is  a  continuous  slanting  floor  above  the  bowels 
and  abdominal  organs  and  below  the  heart  and  lungs.  It  must, 
by  all  reason,  be  kept  normal  in  tightness  at  all  places,  with- 
out a  fold  or  wrinkle  that  would  press  the  aorta,  nerves,  oesoph- 
agus, or  anything  that  contributes  to  the  supply  or  circulation 
of  any  vital  substance.  Now  can  there  be  any  move  in  spine 
or  ribs  that  would  or  could  change  the  normal  shape  of  the 
diphragm?  If  so,  where  and  why? 

OUT  OP  POSITION. 

The  diaphragm  is  possibly  least  understood  as  the  cause 
of  diseases,  when  its  supports  are  not  all  in  line  and  in  normal 
position,  than  any  other  part  of  the  body.  It  has  many  open- 
ings through  which  nerves,  blood,  and  food  pass  while  going  from 
the  chest  to  the  parts  below.  It  begins  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
breast-bone  and  crosses  to  the  ribs  back  and  down,  in  a  slanting 
position,  to  the  third  or  fourth  lumbar  vertebra.  Like  an  apron, 
it  holds  all  that  is  above  it  up,  and  is  the  fence  that  divides  the 
organs  of  the  abdomen  from  the  chest.  Below  it  are  the  stom- 
ach, bowels,  liver,  spleen,  kidneys,  pancreas,  womb,  bladder, 
the  great  system  of  lymphatics,  and  the  nerve-supply  of  the 
organs  and  systems  of  nutrition  and  life-supply.  All  parts  of 
the  body  have  a  direct  or  indirect  connection  with  this  great 
separating  muscle.  It  assists  in  all  animals,  when  normal ;  but 
when  prolapsed  by  the  falling  down  and  in  of  any  of  the  five  or 
six  ribs  by  which  it  is  supported  in  place,  then  follow  the  effects 
of  suspended  normal  arterial  supply,  and  venous  stagnation  be- 
low the  diaphragm.  The  aorta  meets  resistance  as  it  goes  down 


THE    DIAPHRAGM.  139 

with  blood  to  nourish,  and  the  vein,  as  it  goes  back  with  im- 
purities contained  in  the  venous  blood,  also  meets  an  obstruc- 
tion at  the  diaphragm,  as  it  returns  to  the  heart  through  the 
vena  cava,  because  of  the  impingement  caused  by  a  fallen  dia- 
phragm on  and  about  the  blood-vessels.  Thus  heart  trouble, 
lung  disease,  brain,  liver,  and  womb  diseases,  tumors  of  the 
abdomen,  and  so  on  through  the  list  of  effects,  can  be  traced 
to  the  diaphragm  as  the  cause. 

LOCATION. 

I  am  strongly  impressed  that  the  diaphragm  has  much  to 
do  with  keeping  all  the  machinery  and  organs  of  life  in  a  healthy 
condition,  and  will  try  to  give  some  of  the  reasons  why,  as  I  now 
understand  them.  First,  it  is  found  to  be  wisely  located  just 
below  the  heart  and  lungs,  one  the  engine  of  blood  and  the  other 
the  engine  of  air.  This  strong  wall  holds  all  bodies  or  sub- 
stances away  from  either  engine  while  it  is  performing  its  part  in 
the  economy  of  life.  Each  engine  has  a  sacred  duty  to  perform, 
under  the  penal  law  of  death  to  itself  and  all  other  divisions  of 
the  whole  being,  man.  If  it  should  neglect  its  work,  or  should 
we  take  down  this  wall  and  allow  the  liver,  stomach,  and  spleen 
to  occupy  any  of  the  places  allotted  to  these  engines  of  life,  a 
confusion  would  surely  result,  and  the  ability  of  the  heart  to 
force  blood  to  the  lungs  would  be  overcome  and  cause  trouble. 

Suppose  we  take  a  few  diseases  and  submit  them  to  the 
crucial  test  of  reason,  and  see  if  we  can  find  any  one  of  the  cli- 
matic fevers  not  having  some  connection  with  an  irritated  dia- 
phragm. For  example,  take  a  case  of  common  bilious  fever.  It 
generally  begins  with  a  tired  and  sore  feeling  of  the  limbs  and 
muscles,  with  pain  in  the  spine,  head,  and  lumbar  region.  At 
this  point  of  our  inquiry  we  are  left  in  an  open  sea  of  mystery 
and  conjecture  as  to  cause.  One  says,  "  Malaria,"  and  goes  no 
further;  gives  a  name  and  stops.  If  you  ask  for  the  cause  of 


140          PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

such  torturous  pain  in  the  head  and  back,  with  fever  and  vom- 
iting, he  will  tell  you  that  the  very  best  authorities  agree  that 
the  cause  is  malaria,  with  its  peculiar  diagnostic  tendency  to 
affect  the  brain,  spine,  and  stomach,  and  he  administers  qui- 
nine, and  leaves,  thinking  he  has  said  and  done  all. 

Reason  would  lead  seekers  for  the  cause  of  the  pain  to  re- 
member that  all  blood  passes  first  as  chyle  up  to  the  heart  and 
lungs,  directly  through  the  diaphragm,  conducted  through  the 
thoracic  duct,  first  to  the  heart,  thence  to  the  lungs ;  at  the  same 
time  rivers  of  blood  are  pouring  into  the  heart  from  all  the  sys- 
tem. Much  of  it  is  very  impure  from  diseased  or  stale  food, 
coming  from  the  lymphatics  below  the  diaphragm.  Much  of  the 
chyle  is  dead  before  it  enters  the  thoracic  duct  and  goes  to  the 
lungs  without  enough  pure  blood  to  sustain  life.  Then  disease 
appears.  The  diaphragm,  when  dropped  front  and  down,  and 
across  the  aorta  and  vena  cava,  by  a  lowering  of  the  ribs  on  both 
sides  of  the  spine,  would  cause  pressure  over  the  coeliac  axis,  with 
a  complete  abdominal  stoppage.  Then  we  have  obstructed  and 
damaged  blood,  with  no  hope  that  it  can  sustain  life  and  health 
of  the  parts  for  which  it  was  designed.  We  know  that  Nature 
would  not  be  true  to  its  own  laws  if  it  would  do  good  work  with 
bad  material. 

NERVOUS  PROSTRATION. 

Why  not  reason  on  the  broad  scale  of  known  facts,  and  give 
the  "why"  this  or  that  patient  has  complete  prostration,  when 
all  systems  are  wholly  cut  off  from  a  chance  to  move  and  exe- 
cute the  duties  that  Nature  has  allotted  to  them?  Motor  nerves 
must  drive  all  substances  to  a  part  and  sensation  must  judge 
the  supply  and  demand.  Nutrition  must  be  in  action  all  the 
time  and  keep  all  parts  well  supplied,  or  a  failure  is  sure  to  ap- 
pear. We  must  ever  remember  the  demands  of  Nature  on  the 
lymphatics,  liver,  and  kidneys,  and  that  nerves  work  all  the 


THE  DIAPHRAGM.  14! 

time,  and  that  any  confusion  in  nerves  will  make  a  cripple  of 
some  function  of  life  over  which  they  preside. 

We  see  that  no  delay  in  passage  of  food  or  blood  can  be  tol- 
erated at  the  diaphragm,  because  any  irritation  is  bound  to 
cause  muscular  contraction  and  impede  the  natural  flow  of  the 
blood  through  the  abdominal  aorta  to  a  temporary,  partial,  or 
complete  stoppage  of  arterial  supply  to  the  abdomen;  or  the  vena 
cava  may  be  so  pressed  upon  as  to  completely  stop  the  return 
of  venous  blood  from  the  stomach,  kidneys,  bowels,  the  lym- 
phatics, pancreas,  fascia,  cellular  membranes,  nerve-centers,  the 
ganglionic  and  all  systems  of  supply  of  the  organs  of  life  found 
in  the  abdomen.  Thus,  by  pressure,  stricture,  or  contraction, 
the  passage  of  blood  can  be  stopped,  either  above  or  below  the 
diaphragm,  and  be  the  cause  of  blood  being  detained  long 
enough  to  die  from  asphyxia,  thus  causing  disease. 

Thus  you  see  a  cause  for  Bright 's  disease  of  the  kidneys, 
diseases  of  the  womb  or  ovaries,  for  jaundice,  dysentery,  leu- 
corrhcea,  painful  monthlies,  spasms,  dyspepsia,  and  on  through 
the  whole  list  of  diseases  now  booked  as  "causes  unknown," 
and  treated  by  the  rule  of  "cut  and  try."  We  know  that  all  of 
the  blood  for  the  use  of  the  whole  system  below  the  twelfth 
dorsal  vertebra  passes  through  the  diaphragm,  and  the  nerve- 
supply  also  passes  through  the  diaphragm.  This  being  a 
known  fact,  we  have  only  to  use  our  reason  to  know  that  an  un- 
healthy condition  of  the  diaphragm  is  bound  to  be  followed  by 
many  diseases.  The  diaphragm  is  a  musculo-fibrinous  organ, 
and  depends  for  blood-  and  nerve-supply  above  its  own  loca- 
tion, and  that  supply  must  be  given  freely  and  pure  for  nerve 
and  blood,  or  we  will  have  a  diseased  organ  to  start  with.  We 
may  find  a  universal  atrophy  or  oedema,  which  would,  besides 
causing  its  own  deformity,  not  be  able  to  rise  and  fall,  to  assist 
the  lungs  to  purify  the  venous  blood,  previous  to  returning  it  to 
the  heart.  It  is  only  in  keeping  with  reason  that  without  a 


142  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

healthy  diaphragm,  both  in  its  form  and  action,  disease  is  bound 
to  be  the  result.  How  can  a  carpenter  build  a  good  house  out  of 
rotten,  twisted,  or  warped  wood  ?  If  he  can,  then  we  can  hope 
to  be  healthy  with  diseased  blood ;  but  if  we  must  have  good 
material  in  building,  then  we  should  form  our  thoughts  as  care- 
ful inspectors  and  inspect  the  passage  of  blood  through  the 
diaphragm,  pleura,  pericardium,  and  the  fascia.  Disease  is  just 
as  liable  to  begin  its  work  in  the  fascia  and  epithelium  as  at  any 
other  place.  Thus  the  necessity  for  pure  blood  and  healthy 
fascia,  because  all  functions  are  equally  responsible  for  good 
and  bad  results. 

GOD  THE  JUDGE. 

At  a  given  period  of  time  the  Lord  said,  "Let  us  make 
man."  After  He  had  made  him,  He  examined  him  and  pro- 
nounced him  good,  and  not  only  good,  but  very  good.  Did  He 
know  what  good  was?  Had  He  the  skill  to  be  a  competent 
judge?  If  He  was  perfectly  competent  to  judge  skilled  arts, 
His  approval  of  the  work  when  done  was  the  fiat  of  mental 
competency  backed  by  perfection.  Since  that  architect  and 
skilled  mechanic  has  finished  man  and  given  him  dominion  over 
the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  the  fishes  of  the 
sea,  hasn't  that  person,  being,  or  superstructure  proven  to  us 
that  God,  the  creator  of  all  things,  has  armed  him  with  strength, 
with  the  mind  and  machinery  to  direct  and  execute?  This  being 
demonstrated,  and  leaving  us  without  a  doubt  as  to  its  perfec- 
tion, are  we  not  admonished  by  all  that  is  good  and  great  to 
enter  upon  a  minute  examination  of  all  the  parts  belonging  to 
this  being  and  acquaint  ourselves  with  their  uses  and  all  the 
designs  for  which  the  whole  being  was  created?  Are  we  honestly 
interested  in  an  acquaintance  with  the  forms  and  uses  of  the 
parts  in  detail,  of  the  material,  its  form  and  the  object  of  its  form ; 
from  whence  this  substance  is  obtained,  how  it  is  produced  and 


THE  DIAPHRAGM.  143 

sustained  through  life  in  kind  and  form ;  how  it  is  moved,  where 
it  gets  its  power,  and  for  what  object  does  it  move?  A  demand 
for  a  crucial  examination  of  the  head,  the  heart,  the  lungs,  the 
chest,  the  stomach,  the  liver,  and  other  organs  of  the  abdo- 
men, the  brain,  the  pericardium,  and  the  diaphragm  is  ever 
present.  In  this  examination  we  must  know  the  reasons  why 
any  organ,  vessel,  or  any  other  substance  is  located  at  a  given 
place.  We  must  run  with  all  the  rivers  of  blood  that  travel 
through  the  system. 

We  must  start  our  exploring  boat  with  the  blood  of  the 
aorta  and  float  with  this  vital  current,  and  watch  the  unloading 
of  supplies  for  the  diaphragm  and  all  that  is  under  it.  We  must 
follow  and  see  what  branch  of  this  river  will  lead  to  a  little  or 
great  toe,  or  to  the  terminals  of  the  entire  foot.  We  must  pass 
through  the  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea  by  way  of  the  vena  cava, 
and  observe  the  boats  loaded  with  exhausted  and  worn-out 
blood,  as  it  is  poured  in  and  channeled  back  to  the  heart.  Care- 
fully watch  the  emptying  of  the  vena  azygos  major  and  minor, 
with  the  contents  of  the  veins  of  the  arms  and  head  all  being 
poured  in  from  little  or  great  rivers  to  the  vena  innominate,  on 
their  way  to  the  great  hospital  of  life  and  nourishment,  whose 
quartermaster  is  the  heart,  whose  finishing  mechanic  is  the  lung. 
Having  acquainted  ourselves  with  the  forms  and  locations  of 
this  great  personality,  we  are  ready  at  this  time  to  enter  into  a 
higher  class  in  which  we  can  obtain  an  acquaintance  with 
the  physiological  workings.  We  become  acquainted  with  the 
"hows"  and  "whys"  of  the  production  of  blood,  bone,  and  all 
elements  found  in  them  necessary  to  sustain  sensation,  motion, 
nutrition,  voluntary  and  involuntary  action  of  the  nervous 
system,  and  the  "hows"  and  "whys"  of  the  lymphatics,  the 
life-sustaining  powers  of  the  brain,  heart,  lungs,  and  all  the 
abdominal  system,  with  its  parts  and  various  actions  and  uses, 


144  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

from  the  lowest  cellular  membrane  to  the  highest  organ  of  the 
body. 

When  we  consult  the  form  of  the  cross-bar  that  divides  the 
body  into  two  conjoined  divisions  and  reason  on  its  use,  we  ar- 
rive at  the  fact  that  the  heart  and  lungs  must  have  ample  space 
to  suit  their  actions  while  performing  their  functions.  What 
effect  would  follow  the  removal  of  the  fence  between  the  heart, 
lungs,  and  brain  above  that  dividing  muscle  and  the  machinery 
that  is  situated  below  the  cross-bar?  We  see  at  a  glance  that 
we  would  meet  failure  to  the  extent  of  the  infringement  on 
demanded  room  for  normal  work  of  the  heart  in  its  effort  to 
deliver  normal  supplies  below,  the  lungs  to  prepare  blood,  and 
interference  with  the  brain  and  its  duty  of  passing  nerve-power 
to  either  engine  above  and  all  organs  below  the  diaphragm. 

THE  LESSON  OF  THE  TREE. 

The  life  of  the  living  tree  is  in  the  bark  and  superficial 
fascia  which  lies  beneath  the  bark.  The  remainder  of  the  tree 
performs  the  duties  of  secreting.  Its  excretory  system  is  first 
upward  from  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  washes  out  frozen 
impurities  in  the  spring,  after  which  it  secretes  and  conveys  sub- 
stances to  the  ground  through  the  trunk  of  the  tree  to  the  roots, 
like  unto  a  placenta  attached  to  Mother  Earth,  qualifying  all 
substances  of  fiber  and  leaf  of  the  part  of  the  tree  above  the 
ground.  Each  year  produces  new  tree  additions,  which  are 
seen  and  known  by  circular  rings  called  annular  growths.  That 
growth  which  was  completed  last  year  is  now  a  being  of  the  past 
and  has  no  vital  action  of  itself.  But,  like  all  stale  beings,  its 
process  is  life  of  another  order,  and  dependent  upon  the  fascia 
for  its  life  and  cellular  action  which  lies  under  the  bark.  It  can 
only  act  as  a  chemical  laboratory  and  furnish  crude  material 
which  is  taken  up  by  the  superficial  fascia  and  conveyed  up  to 
the  lungs,  and  exchange  dead  for  living  matter  to  return  to  all 
parts  of  the  tree,  keeping  up  the  vital  formations.  Its  vital 


THE  DIAPHRAGM.  145 

process  ceases  through  the  winter  season,  until  Mother  Earth 
stimulates  the  placenta  and  starts  the  growth  of  the  next  new 
being,  which  is  developed  and  placed  in  form  on  the  old  trunk. 

Should  this  form  of  vitality  cease  hi  the  tree,  another  prin- 
ciple, which  we  call  "stale  life,"  takes  possession  and  constructs 
another  tree,  which  is  just  the  reverse  of  the  living  tree.  It 
builds  a  tree  after  its  own  power  of  formulation  from  the  dead 
matter,  to  which  it  imparts  a  principle  of  stale  life,  which  life 
produces  mushrooms,  frogstools,  and  other  peculiar  forms  of 
stale  beings.  Thus  we  are  prepared  to  reason  that  blood,  when 
ligated  and  retained  in  that  condition  of  dead  corpuscles,  and 
no  longer  able  to  support  animal  life,  can  form  a  zoophyte  and 
all  the  forms  peculiar  to  the  great  law  of  association:  tume- 
factions of  the  lymphatics,  pancreas,  kidneys,  liver,  uterus,  with 
all  the  glandular  system,  be  they  lymphatics,  cellular,  gan- 
glia, or  any  other  parts  of  the  body  susceptible  of  such  growths. 
We  can  thus  account  for  tubercles  of  the  abdomen  and  all 
organs  found  therein.  The  same  law  is  equally  applicable  to  the 
heart,  lungs,  brain,  tissues,  glands,  fascia,  and  all  parts  capable 
of  receiving  and  lacking  the  ability  to  excrete  stale  substances, 
As  oedema  marks  the  first  tardiness  of  fluids,  we  have  the 
beginning  step  which  will  lead  from  miliary  tuberculosis  to  the 
largest  known  forms  of  tubercles,  which  are  the  effect  of  the 
active  principles  of  stale  life  or  "the  life  of  dead  matter." 

We  will  draw  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  fact  that 
the  diaphragm  can  contract  and  suspend  the  passage  of  blood 
and  produce  all  the  stagnant  changes  from  the  beginning  to  the 
completed  tubercle,  the  cancer,  the  wen,  glandular  thickening 
of  the  neck,  face,  scalp,  and  fascia.  In  this  stale  life  we  have  a 
compass  that  will  lead  us  as  explorers  to  the  causes  of  tubercles, 
tumors,  cancers,  and  ulcers.  This  diaphragm  says,  "By  me 
you  live  and  by  me  you  die.  I  hold  in  my  hands  the  powers 
of  life  and  death.  Acquaint  now  thyself  with  me  and  be  at 
ease." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


The  Abdomen. 

INHIBITION. 

Much  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  idea  of  inhibition  of  the 
nerves  as  a  remedial  agency.  Allow  me  to  say  that  inhibition 
is  almost  universally  the  cause  of  disease.  Dunglison  defines 
"inhibit,"  to  restrain  or  suppress,  and  defines  "stimulation," 
to  goad;  that  which  excites  the  animal  economy. 

For  the  reader 's  benefit,  I  wish  to  refresh  his  mind  on  anat- 
omy, that  he  may  fully  understand  what  I  wish  to  present  as  a 
truth,  to  guide  him  while  treating  his  patients,  and  to  point  him 
to  the  danger  of  doing  more  harm  than  good  by  pushing,  pull- 
ing, and  kneading  the  abdomen,  with  the  idea  that  he  inhibits 
the  nerves  or  excites  them  to  greater  energy,  thereby  helping 
Nature  do  the  work  of  restoration  of  the  normal  functional 
action  of  the  organs  of  the  abdomen. 

I  will  say,  after  forty  years'  observation  and  practice, 
that  no  good  can  come  to  the  patient  by  pulling,  pushing,  and 
gouging  in  the  sacred  territory  of  the  abdominal  organs ;  but 
much  harm  can  and  does  follow  bruising  the  solar  plexus,  from 
which  a  branch  of  nerves  goes  to  each  organ  of  the  abdomen. 
Upon  that  center  depends  all  the  elaborate  work  of  the  func- 
tioning of  the  abdomen.  I  say,  "Hands  off."  Go  to  the  spine 
and  ribs  only.  If  you  do  not  know  the  power  of  the  spinal 
nerves  on  the  liver  to  restore  health,  you  must  learn  or  quit,  be- 
cause you  are  only  an  owl  of  hoots,  more  work  than  brains.  I 
want  the  man  who  wishes  to  know  the  work  that  is  done  by  the 


THE  ABDOMEN.  147 

organs  or  contents  of  the  abdomen  also  to  know  the  danger  of 
ignorance,  and  that  wild  force  in  treating  the  abdomen  cannot 
be  tolerated  as  any  part  of  this  sacred  philosophy. 

BE  ORIGINAL. 

You  must  reason.  I  say  reason,  or  you  will  finally  fail  in 
all  enterprises.  Form  your  own  opinions,  select  all  facts  you 
can  obtain.  Compare,  decide,  then  act.  Use  no  man's  opin- 
ions ;  accept  his  works  only. 

Having  passed  through  the  head,  neck,  and  thorax  with  a 
short  description  of  the  diseases  belonging  to  each  division,  and 
as  our  work  is  divided  for  observation  and  discussion  into  five 
parts,  we  will  now  take  up  the  fourth  division.  According  to 
the  number,  the  head  is  one,  the  neck  two,  the  thorax  three,  the 
abdomen  four,  and  the  pelvis  five.  I  have  established  this 
arbitrary  classification  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  workings 
of  the  various  divisions  of  the  body  systematically,  especially 
the  abdominal  viscera,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  a  more  def- 
inite knowledge  of  their  perfect  workings  in  good  health.  It  is 
important  to  know  the  exact  place  that  each  organ  occupies 
while  in  its  normal  position.  Not  only  know  it  on  general  prin- 
ciples, but  to  a  greater  degree  of  perfection  than  any  other  les- 
son that  is  before  the  student  of  disease.  We  should  know  the 
perfect  position  of  each  organ,  the  blood-,  nerve-,  and  nutrient 
supply  by  which  its  work  is  accomplished,  from  whence  the  sup- 
port comes,  how  applied,  and  how  kept  in  its  pure  state  by  the 
natural  functions  of  excreting  all  exhausted  and  diseased  sub- 
stances. By  this  knowledge  only  can  we  expect  to  detect  the 
many  variations,  both  great  and  small,  in  nutrition  and  reno- 
vation, which  is  the  sum  total  of  what  is  meant  by  good  health. 
Each  organ  seems  to  be  a  creator  of  its  own  fluid  substances, 
extracted  from  the  channels  of  nutrition  upon  which  it  depends. 
The  quantity  and  quality  necessary  for  this  process  are  abso- 


148  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  Otf  OSTEOPATHY. 

lute  beyond  dispute.     This  being  the  case,  we  must,  in  dealing 
with  the  abnormal,  work  for  readjustment  to  normal  perfection. 

A  GREAT  HOST. 

We  will  look  over  the  abdominal  field,  count  the  host,  and 
try  to  be  as  systematic  as  possible.  We  will  begin  at  the  dia- 
phragm, the  wall  that  separates  the  thorax  from  the  abdomen. 
The  abdomen  contains  the  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  stomach,  two 
kidneys,  the  bladder,  small  and  large  intestines,  the  omentum, 
abdominal  aorta  and  vena  cava,  the  blood-supply  for  the  whole 
system  of  abdominal  organs,  the  lymphatics  with  all  secretory 
and  excretory  organs,  and  all  there  is  found  on  to  the  pelvic 
floor.  All  the  organs  of  the  territory  of  the  abdomen  must 
be  kept  before  the  eye,  and  we  must  feel  that  we  are  in  the  pres- 
ence of  perfection  of  all  organs.  We  can  then  begin  to  compare 
any  variation,  real  or  imaginary,  in  place,  form,  or  function  of 
all  that  is  before  us.  The  perfect  diaphragm  means  perfection 
at  all  points  of  its  whole  circular  attachment,  beginning  with 
the  sixth  rib  and  ending  with  the  third  and  fourth  lumbar  ver- 
tebrae. No  spine  can  be  varied  from  the  sixth  rib  to  the  fourth 
lumbar  and  show  perfection  of  the  diaphragm.  No  rib  thrown 
from  its  perfect  position  with  the  spinal  articulation  can  leave 
the  diaphragm  perfect  in  its  functions.  Perfection  of  spine 
and  ribs  is  imperative  and  absolutely  required  before  we  can 
hope  for  perfection  in  the  flow  of  blood  and  other  fluids  that 
pass  through  the  throat,  aorta,  vena  cava,  and  thoracic  duct. 
All  must  pass  freely,  and  also  their  accompanying  nerves,  mo- 
tor and  sensory,  that  enter  into  the  solar  plexus  and  all  its 
branches,  or  a  halt  will  appear  and  begin  the  work  of  creating 
disease  by  tardy  renovation  of  abdominal  organs  as  the  result 
of  such  shortage  in  the  function  of  that  part  or  organ  that  must 
be  kept  normal  by  perfect  renovation.  Suppose  we  select  a  kid- 
ney that  is  normally  perfect,  and  twist  the  spine  at  the  renal 


THE  ABDOMEN.  149 

nerve  origin  enough  to  disturb  the  nutrition  of  the  kidney; 
we  would  expect  dwarfage  in  its  functioning  to  set  up  and  build 
tubercular  deposits,  congestion,  fermentation,  and  pus.  Sup- 
pose we  overpower  sensation  and  the  motion  of  the  nerve  by  a 
lap  or  a  strain  of  the  spine  where  the  spinal  cord  throws  out 
the  nerve-branches  that  supply  the  kidneys ;  we  would  have 
paralysis  of  the  kidneys,  with  all  the  diseases  peculiar  to  that 
organ,  the  result  of  a  deadened  condition  of  the  renal  nerves. 

GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE  ABDOMEN. 

As  we  are  about  to  camp  close  to  the  abdomen  for  a  season 
of  explorations,  to  gain  a  more  reasonable  knowledge  of  its 
organs  and  their  functions,  we  will  search  its  geography  first  and 
find  its  location  on  the  body  or  globe  of  life.  We  find  a  boun- 
dary line  established  by  the  general  surveyor,  about  the  middle 
of  the  body,  called  the  diaphragm.  This  line  has  a  very  strong 
wall  of  striated  muscle  that  can  and  does  contract  and  dilate  to 
suit  the  phenomenon  of  breathing,  and  the  quantities  of  food 
that  may  be  stored  for  a  time  in  the  stomach  and  bowels.  The 
abdomen  is  much  longer  than  it  is  wide.  It  is  a  house  or  shop 
builded  for  manufacturing  purposes.  In  it  we  find  the  ma- 
chinery that  produces  rough  blood  or  chyle  and  gives  it  out  to 
be  finished  to  perfect  living  blood,  to  supply  and  sustain  all 
the  organs  of  this  and  other  divisions.  This  diaphragm  or  wall 
has  several  openings  through  which  blood  and  nutrient  vessels 
pass  to  and  from  the  abdomen  to  heart,  lungs,  and  brain.  I 
want  to  draw  your  special  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  dia- 
phragm must  be  truly  normal.  It  must  be  anchored  and  held 
in  its  true  position  without  any  variation,  and  in  order  that 
you  shall  fully  understand  what  I  mean,  I  will  ask  you  to  go 
with  me  mentally  to  the  ribs.  Begin  with  the  sternum,  see  the 
attachments,  follow  across  with  a  downward  course  to  the  at- 
tachments of  the  diaphragm  to  the  lower  lumbar  region,  where 


15O  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

the  right  crus  receives  a  branch  or  strong  muscle  from  the  left 
side.  The  left  crus  in  turn  receives  a  muscle  from  the  right, 
and  the  two  become  one  common  muscle,  known  as  the  left 
crus.  You  will  easily  comprehend  the  structure  by  exam- 
ining descriptive  cuts  in  Gray,  Morris,  Gerrish,  or  any  well- 
illustrated  work  on  anatomy.  You  see  at  once  a  chance  for 
constriction  of  the  aorta  by  the  muscles  under  which  it  passes, 
frequently  causing  without  doubt  the  disease  known  as  palpita- 
tion of  the  heart,  which  is  only  a  bouncing  back  of  the  blood 
that  has  been  stopped  at  the  crura.  Farther  away  from  the 
spine,  near  the  center  of  the  diaphragm,  we  find  another  open- 
ing through  this  wall  to  accommodate  the  vena  cava.  To  the 
left,  a  few  inches  below  the  vena  cava,  we  find  another  opening 
provided  for  the  oesophagus  and  its  nerves.  Two  muscles  of 
the  diaphragm  cross  directly  between  the  oesophagus  and  aorta, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  able  to  produce  powerful  prohibitory 
constriction  to  normal  swallowing. 

THE  THORACIC  DUCT. 

At  this  point  I  will  draw  your  attention  to  what  I  consider 
is  the  cause  of  a  whole  list  of  hitherto  unexplained  diseases, 
which  are  only  effects  of  the  blood  and  other  fluids  being  pro- 
hibited from  doing  normal  service  by  constrictions  at  the  vari- 
ous openings  of  the  diaphragm.  Thus  prohibition  of  the  free 
action  of  the  thoracic  duct  would  produce  congestion  of  the 
receptaculum  chyli,  because  it  would  not  be  able  to  discharge  its 
contents  as  fast  as  received.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  a  ligation  of  the  thoracic  duct  at  the  diaphragm  would 
retain  this  chyle  until  it  would  be  diseased  by  age  and  fermenta- 
tion, and  be  thrown  off  into  the  substances  of  other  organs  of  the 
abdomen,  setting  up  new  growths,  such  as  enlargement  of  the 
uterus,  ovaries,  kidneys,  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  omentum,  lym- 
phatics, cellular  membranes,  and  all  that  is  known  as  flesh  and 


CO;  THf 

THE  ABDOMEK.  15 1 

blood  below  the  diaphragm?  Have  you  not  reason  to  urge  you 
to  explore  and  demand  a  deeper  and  more  thorough  anatomical 
knowledge  of  the  diaphragm  and  its  power  to  produce  disease 
while  in  an  abnormal  condition  from  irritation,  wounds,  etc.? 
Remember  that  this  is  a  question  that  will  demand  your  knowl- 
edge of  the  mechanical  formations  and  physiological  actions 
and  the  unobstructed  privileges  of  fluids  when  prepared  in  the 
laboratory  of  Nature,  which  must  be  sent  at  once  to  their  des- 
tination before  they  become  diseased  or  die  from  age.  You 
must  remember  that  you  have  been  talked  out  of  patience 
in  the  room  of  symptomatology,  and  all  you  have  learned  is 
that  something  ails  the  kidneys,  and  that  their  contents,  when 
analyzed,  have  been  found  defective.  In  urinalysis  you  are 
told,  "Here  is  fat,"  "Here  is  sugar,"  "Here  is  iron,"  "Here  is 
pus,"  "Here  is  albumen,"  and  "This  is  diabetes,"  "This  is 
Bright's  disease,"  but  no  suggestion  is  handed  to  the  student's 
mind  to  make  him  know  these  numerous  variations  from  nor- 
mal urine  are  simply  effects,  and  the  diaphragm  has  caused  all 
the  trouble,  by  first  being  irritated  by  ribs  falling,  spinal  strains, 
wounds,  and  so  on,  from  the  coccyx  to  the  base  of  the  brain. 
Symptomatology  is  very  wise  in  putting  this  and  that  together 
and  giving  it  names,  but  it  fails  to  give  the  cause  of  all  these 
lesions.  Never  once  has  it  said  or  intimated  that  the  diaphragm 
is  prolapsed  by  misplaced  ribs,  to  which  it  is  attached,  or  that  it 
is  diseased  by  injury  to  the  spine  and  nerves. 

THE  NERVES  MUST  ACT. 

Remember  there  are  five  sets  of  nerves  that  are  important 
factors  in  then-  divisions  of  life.  They  are  the  sensory,  motor, 
nutrient,  voluntary,  and  involuntary.  With  all  of  these  you, 
as  an  engineer,  must  be  familiar,  and  by  proper  adjustment 
of  the  body  you  must  be  able  to  give  them  unlimited  power  to 
perform  their  separate  and  united  parts  in  sustaining  life  and 
health. 


'!     ! 

l-ll  A<iU,31  S  i  JJOO 

I5i  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 


Now,  as  I  have  tried  to  place  in  your  hands  a  compass,  flag, 
and  chain  that  will  lead  you  from  effect  to  cause  of  disease  in 
any  part  or  organ  of  the  whole  abdomen,  I  hope  that  many 
mysteries  that  have  hung  over  your  mental  horizon  will  pass 
away,  and  give  you  abiding  truths,  placed  upon  the  everlasting 
rock  of  cause  and  effect.  You  have  as  little  use  for  old  symp- 
tomatology as  an  Irishman  has  for  a  cork  when  the  bottle  is 
empty.  Osteopathy  is  knowledge,  or  it  is  nothing. 

FEAST  OF  REASON. 

Let  me  invite  you  to  a  feast  at  the  table  of  reason.  This 
feast  is  to  consist  of  materials  furnished  by  the  greatest  of  au- 
thors of  anatomy.  The  material  man,  with  all  his  parts,  is  to  be 
spread  upon  the  broad  dishes  of  observation,  and  the  divine 
currents  of  life,  displaying  their  wonderful  works  in  the  physi- 
ological laboratory,  will  be  spread  upon  this  table  before  the 
hungry  mind  as  choice  bits  or  dainties  that  belong  to  the  man 
who  loves  to  reason,  and  to  the  man  who  wishes  to  enjoy  some 
of  the  fruits  from  the  trees  of  mental  life.  Our  bill  of  fare  is  all 
before  you.  We  will  have  sixteen  changes  of  dishes  at  this  feast. 
Each  dish  will  contain  the  greatest  amount  of  vital  nourish- 
ment that  the  human  tongue  of  reason  has  ever  been  called 
upon  to  sample  and  taste.  Our  bill  of  fare  reads,  '  '  Brain,  heart, 
lungs,  diaphragm,  pancreas,  spleen,  stomach,  liver  and  gall- 
sac,  large  and  small  intestines,  rectum,  kidneys  and  ureters, 
uterus,  and  bladder."  The  length  of  the  table  is  from  the  coc- 
cyx to  the  occiput,  and  its  width  the  diameter  of  the  human 
body.  This  feast  will  be  one  of  but  little  interest  or  relish  to 
the  man  who  does  not  understand  the  combined  beauties  of 
anatomy  and  physiology.  The  sweetness  of  taste  comes  with 
an  intimate  acquaintance,  by  long  and  deep  study  of  the  com- 
position and  use  of  each  dish  of  organic  life  set  before  the 
invited  host.  Without  such  acquaintace,  no  dish  upon  this 


THE  ABDOMEN.  IS3 

table  will  be  relished ;  therefore,  the  invitation  is  only  for  him 
who  has  qualified  himself  to  partake  of  the  interesting  discourse. 
When  every  dish  appears  upon  this  table  without  a  flaw  or 
crack,  and  the  dainties  are  as  pure  as  Nature's  God  prepares 
and  sends  forth,  then  we  will  have  a  feast  whose  joys  can  neither 
be  fathomed  nor  imagined.  These  dainties  on  which  you  are 
invited  to  feast  are  as  eternal  as  the  ages,  as  wisely  prepared  as 
the  God  of  the  universe  has  been  able  to  furnish  by  His  law  of 
absolute  perfection.  All  are  invited.  This  table  to  which  you  are 
invited  is  durable.  The  choice  nourishment  which  is  to  be 
spread  before  you  is  as  inexhaustible  as  the  days  of  both  ends  of 
eternity;  therefore,  this  feast  will  neither  end  with  mortality 
nor  immortality.  Come  one,  come  all. 

On  our  bill  of  fare  at  this  abdominal  feast  we  have  enumer- 
ated by  number  and  name  all  the  dishes  to  be  served.  The 
osteopath  feasts  upon  the  dishes  that  are  found  upon  the  table 
of  the  abdomen,  and  each  course  will  be  required  to  be  eaten 
systematically  by  the  invited  guests.  The  plates  will  appear 
'in  each  course  by  threes.  Of  the  plates  of  the  first  course,  one 
will  contain  the  stomach,  another  the  small  intestine,  while  the 
third  and  last  will  be  the  large  intestine.  We  feast  you  upon 
this  course  of  the  alimentary  canal,  first,  that  you  may  know, 
from  the  entering  to  the  expelling  of  all  material  substances,  the 
extent  of  the  whole  road  through  which  the  alimentary  sub- 
stances pass.  The  second  course  will  consist  of  three  darker  col- 
ored dishes,  with  a  purple  tint.  One  contains  the  liver,  anothei 
the  spleen,  and  the  third  the  kidneys.  The  third  course  con- 
sists of  the  heart,  arteries,  and  veins.  The  fourth  course,  of  an 
equal  number  of  dishes,  contains  the  brain  and  the  motor  and 
sensory  nerves.  The  lungs,  with  their  physical  and  chemical 
laboratory  for  purifying  and  preparing  the  blood  for  universal 
distribution  and  use  throughout  the  body,  when  presented  to 
the  heart  for  that  purpose,  constitute  the  fifth.  The  sixth 


154  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

course  will  be  the  diaphragm,  with  its  vessels  of  secretion  and 
nutrition,  its  form,  locality,  and  its  use.  The  seventh  will  con- 
tain the  bladders,  ureters,  and  the  general  system  of  collecting 
and  excreting  lifeless  fluids  through  the  excretory  channels. 
The  ovaries  and  nerve-  and  blood-supply  of  the  generative 
system  are  the  eighth  course. 

LESSONS  TO  LEARN. 

This  allegoric  illustration  has  been  given  in  order  to  accus- 
tom your  mind  to  feast  and  learn  something  of  the  forms  of 
the  organs  of  life  hi  the  human  body.  As  you  seem  to  be  quite 
handy  in  eating  through  each  change  of  courses,  and  seem  to  be 
familiar  with  the  anatomical  form  and  location  of  the  various 
systems  of  organs,  we  will  hand  you  out  the  ninth  change,  con- 
sisting of  four  dishes,  the  number  required  to  contain  the  dif- 
ferent divisions  by  name  and  locality  of  the  one  system  known 
to  us  as  the  absorbing  laboratory  of  nutritious  substances  from 
the  alimentary  canal.  The  first  very  large  dish  will  contain  the 
greater  and  lesser  omenta ;  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  will 
contain  the  different  divisions  of  the  mesentery,  beginning  with 
the  meso-caecum,  meso-transversalis,  meso-colon,  and  meso- 
rectum.  The  mesentery  is  shown  by  examination  to  be  made 
of  very  strong  and  elastic  substances,  supplied  with  blood- 
vessels, lymphatics,  and  secretory  and  excretory  systems,  with 
nerves  to  suit  its  functioning  process.  We  also  find  its  attach- 
ments to  the  spine  and  bowels  to  be  very  extensive,  extend- 
ing many  'inches  in  length,  about  four  to  six  up  and  down  the 
anterior  surface  of  the  spinal  column,  beginning  with  the  second 
lumbar.  Its  attachment  at  the  other  extremity  from  the  spine 
is  to  the  bowels.  The  small  intestine  attachment  is  very  exten- 
sive. When  the  fan-shaped  edge  of  attachment  is  measured, 
it  equals  about  eighteen  or  twenty  feet,  as  generally  observed 
and  reported  by  authors  on  anatomy  and  according  to  our  own 


THE  ABDOMEN.  155 

observations  in  dissections.  The  meso-caecum  is  firmly  attached 
both  to  the  spine  and  that  part  of  the  intestines  known  as  the 
ascending  colon. .  This  membrane  is  quite  strong  and  elastic. 
The  meso-transversalis  and  meso-colon  are  also  firmly  attached 
to  the  spine  at  the  one  extremity  and  to  the  bowels  at  the  other. 
This  membranous  sheet  is  very  elastic  and  very  liable  to  be 
stretched  when  the  bowels  are  pressed  down. by  mechanical 
weights  or  great  quantities  of  faecal  matter.  The  caecum  and 
the  transverse  and  sigmoid  flexure  are  often  forced  from  their 
normal  positions  and  piled  into  the  pelvis,  dragging  the  uterus 
and  small  intestine  down  with  the  caecum  and  obstructing  all 
possible  chance  for  the  fluids  of  the  small  intestine  to  pass 
through  the  ileo-caecal  valve  and  reach  the  colon.  Thus  we  have 
a  visible,  philosophical  cause  for  obstruction  of  faecal  matter. 
That  is  not  debatable  by  any  person  who  is  endowed  with  any 
power  to  reason  from  cause  to  effect. 

HARMONY  MUST  EXIST. 

We  will  say  to  the  student  of  the  philosophy  of  diseases  of 
the  abdomen  and  their  remote,  active,  and  present  causes,  that 
he  is  better  prepared  to  take  up  the  subject  of  diseases  of  the 
many  or  few  organs  of  the  abdominal  viscera  if  he  knows 
what  is  meant  by  disease  of  the  organs  of  the  abdomen,  pelvis, 
and  chest.  All  these  organs  must  work  in  perfect  harmony  to 
produce  health.  Health  requires  the  continuous  action  of 
every  organ,  all  nerves,  all  blood-vessels,  all  lymphatics,  all  the 
secretory  system,  and  all  the  excretory  system,  in  order  that 
when  the  united  products  are  thrown  into  the  thoracic  duct  or 
any  other  duct  that  conveys  lymph  or  any  other  fluid,  they  will 
be  conveyed  to  the  lungs.  It  is  reasonable  that  this  fluid,  from 
the  many  thousands  of  cells  and  channels  through  which  it  is 
passed,  will  become  as  a  unit.  In  order  that  health  may  be  per- 
fect, every  drop  of  fluid  must  be  conveyed  from  the  lower  bowels, 


156  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP   OSTEOPATHY. 

beginning  with  the  rectum,  ascending  through  the  sigmoid  and 
up  the  left  side  of  the  abdomen,  through  the  descending  colon 
and  transverse  colon  and  down  to  the  iliac  fossa,  which  is  the 
normal  position  allotted  to  the  caecum.  Reason  will  teach  you 
at  once  that  each  drop  of  lymph  or  venous  blood  coming  from 
the  whole  system  of  the  large  bowels,  and  absorbed  by  the  mes- 
entery and  conveyed  through  that  system  to  the  thoracic  duct, 
must  be  absolutely  and  chemically  pure,  or  disease  will  mark 
the  amount  of  variation  caused  by  the  amount  of  impurities 
that  are  taken  up  by  the  mesenteries  of  any  division,  from  the 
rectum  to  the  ileo-caecal  valve. 

AN  OBSTRUCTION. 

The  importance  of  a  knowledge  and  a  very  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  form  and  place,  the  function  and  object  of  the  pro- 
ductive ability,  application,  and  use  of  the  fluids  necessary  to 
the  production  of  good  health  is  apparent.  If  after  this  prep- 
aration is  completed  by  the  lungs  and  we  have  good  blood,  any 
diseased  condition  of  the  viscera  of  the  pelvis  or  thorax  should 
appear,  in  the  form  of  thickening  of  the  membranes,  congestion, 
thickening,  or  tumefaction  of  any  organ  or  its  appendages, 
then  we  have  a  positive  witness  that  a  lymphatic  duct,  an  ex- 
cretory duct,  or  a  venous  duct  is  stopped  by  the  ligation  of  its 
channel  by  constriction,  weight,  or  a  cramp,  or  from  pressure  of 
bone  or  muscle,  preventing  the  passage  of  the  fluid  that  has 
been  detained  and  has  given  size  and  form  to  this  abnormal 
tumefaction  found  adjacent  to  some  gland.  All  interferences  are 
labeled  to  your  understanding  at  once,  by  enlargement  through 
stoppage  of  fluids  which  ferment,  inflame,  and  produce  erysip- 
elas and  other  manifestations  of  inflammations.  The  same 
method  of  reasoning  will  enable  the  doctor  of  osteopathy  to 
prove  to  his  understanding  and  satisfaction  that  acute  and 
chronic  dysentery  have  origin  and  continuation  from  these 


157 

trading  causes.  The  same  method  of  reasoning  is  just  as 
go'bd  in  typhoid  dysentery.  The  genius  of  anatomy  and  phys- 
iology, with  any  ordinary  amount  of  mechanical  skill,  will  see 
by  all  methods  of  reasoning  that  the  caecum,  the  sigmoid,  and 
the  small  intestine  are  ditched  into  the  pelvis,  pressing  and 
compressing  the  nerves,  veins,  and  arteries  that  should  at  all 
times  be  free  to  act  normally,  or  congestion,  inflammation,  and 
sloughing  away  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  bowels,  with 
blood,  lymph,  and  other  substances,  will  follow.  This  dis- 
turbance will  produce  irritation  of  other  glands,  through  the 
nervous  system,  and  cause  those  irritated  organs  to  unload  their 
diseased  substances  into  the  lymphatic  and  nervous  channels 
and  convey  this  confused  and  poisonous  mass  of  fluid  back  to 
the  lungs  from  the  whole  alimentary  canal,  the  bladder,  the 
uterus,  the  kidneys,  the  liver,  the  spleen,  the  pancreas,  and  by 
this  physiological  and  chemical  manifestation  you  can  easily 
account  for  variation  in  temperature  known  as  the  hot  and 
cold  stages  that  accompany  typhoid  and  other  classes  of  fevers. 

THE  OMENTUM. 

We  have  spoken  in  another  place  of  the  importance  that 
should  be  attached  to  the  mesentery,  uterus,  and  other  organs, 
and  how  they  can  become  diseased,  and  in  their  effort  to  return 
to  the  normal  have  generated  tumors,  inflammation,  sloughing 
away,  and  so  on.  We  will  now  take  up  the  omentum,  and  try 
to  treat  this  organ  with  consideration  and  due  respect.  We 
are  satisfied  that  it  has  much  to  do,  if  not  all,  in  keeping  the 
lungs  in  a  healthy  condition.  We  have  reason  to  believe,  from 
the  history  of  post-mortems  following  tuberculosis  and  other 
diseases  of  the  lungs,  that  had  this  organ,  the  great  omentum, 
been  kept  normally  in  position,  form,  and  size,  well  nourished 
and  properly  renovated,  we  would  have  had  but  very  little, 
if  any,  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  to  report.  We  believe  that  we 


158  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

have  abundance  of  evidence  to  prove  the  responsibility  that  is 
upon  the  omentum  to  sustain  life  and  health  and  keep  the  lungs 
forever  pure.  This  subject  will  be  discussed  at  greater  length 
under  the  head  of  "Diseases  of  the  Lungs." 

BLOOD-  AND  NERVE-SUPPLY. 

We  will  insist  on  the  student  giving  particular  attention 
to  a  knowledge  of  blood-  and  nerve-supply,  and  we  insist  on 
his  obtaining  an  exact  and  very  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
both  supplies  before  he  can  expect  to  do  acceptable  work,  sat- 
isfactory to  himself  and  to  his  patients.  The  blood  and  nerves 
have  much  to  do  in  producing  and  sustaining  health.  To  have 
perfection  in  blood-flow  and  nerve-power  in  health,  means  union 
and  action  of  both.  Of  what  use  would  incomplete  action  be, 
when  perfect  health  is  the  result  of  the  full  and  free  action  of 
the  nerves  on  blood  that  is  to  pass  from  the  heart  to  all  places, 
if  either  blood-  or  nerve-currents  should  be  stopped  by  any 
cause?  In  the  abdomen  are  many  organs  and  functions  that 
must  act  all  the  time,  and  they  must  have  blood  to  act  on  and 
nerve-energy  with  which  to  act. 

THE  PANCREAS. 

The  pancreas  opens  the  subject  of  demand  and  supply  for 
its  use.  This  organ  in  healthy  action  gives  back  that  finest  of 
milk,  the  pancreatic  juice,  that  supplies,  feeds,  and  nourishes 
the  whole  system  of  the  mucous  membrane,  tissues,  and  gen- 
eral structures  of  the  small  intestine,  while  it  receives  and  mixes 
the  gall  with  the  food  as  it  passes  through  the  small  intestine, 
preparatory  to  being  elaborated  in  the  large  intestine  and 
given  back  as  blood  in  its  first  stages  to  the  lymphatics,  to  be 
conveyed  to  the  heart  and  lungs  for  the  final  finishing  to  blood. 
This  blood  is  sent  forth  by  the  heart  by  way  of  the  arteries, 
great  and  small,  to  each  gland  for  its  use.  A  plentiful  supply  of 


THE  ABDOMEN.  159 

blood  branches  off  from  the  greater  arteries  after  leaving  the 
heart  to  supply  each  organ,  with  all  its  attachments,  all  to 
perfect  fullness  of  supply.  This  blood  system  and  the  spinal 
cord,  the  brain,  the  nerves,  with  force  equal  to  all,  demands 
healthy  action  in  each  organ  of  the  head,  neck,  chest,  abdomen, 
and  limbs,  with  no  exception  to  the  law  of  demand  and  sup- 
ply, which  is  absolute  through  all  nature. 

AWAY  WITH  QUACKERY. 

But  our  present  work,  for  a  time,  is  to  fight  the  battles  of  the 
abdomen  and  free  it  from  drug  quackery  and  the  abuses  that  the 
viscera  receive  from  ignorance  of  drugs  and  their  effects,  and 
the  continued  blind  faith  kept  up  by  the  drug  doctors  in  their 
efficacy.  If  Nature  requires  drugs,  where  would  it  go  to  find 
the  laboratory  that  could  be  trusted  to  make  drugs  that  would 
benefit  the  body?  Would  it  trust  its  own  liver  to  make  the 
gall?  Would  it,  in  time  of  need,  trust  the  pancreas  to  make 
good  juice?  Would  it  trust  the  heart  and  lungs  to  make  or 
finish  good  blood  and  dose  it  out  to  the  invalid  organs  of  the 
body?  Would  it  trust  each  organ  for  its  own  products  as  the 
system  should  need  its  remedial  agency? 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  PURE  BLOOD. 

If  the  abdomen  provides  the  rough  material  for  the  blood 
of  the  system,  and  perfect  health  can  only  come  from  good 
blood,  and  perfect  blood  cannot  be  furnished  by  imperfect  vis- 
cera nor  any  imperfection  in  form,  location,  or  function  of  any 
organ  of  the  abdomen,  chest,  or  brain,  why  not  hunt  for  some 
cause  of  disease  in  the  machinery  that  produces  blood  from  the 
start  to  its  finish  ?  If  we  find  a  failure  in  health,  we  would  surely 
show  wisdom  by  going  into  the  machine-shop  to  find  defects 
in  the  machine  or  system  of  organs  which  starts  with  crude 
material  and  brings  forth  pure  blood.  We  would  have  to  begin 


l6o  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

with  the  mouth  and  critically  examine  for  imperfections  in  both 
jaws;  examine  the  articulations,  the  muscles,  nerves,  tongue, 
and  teeth.  If  found  good,  mark"O.  K."  Then  take  the  throat. 
Be  a  careful  critic,  and  find  to  a  certainty  that  every  muscle, 
ligament,  nerve,  and  all  blood-supply  are  perfectly  normal  from 
mouth  to  stomach,  and  if  so,  mark  "O.  K."  Take  up  the  stom- 
ach ;  if  good,  pass  on  to  the  duodenum  and  the  rest  of  the  small 
intestine,  and  follow  that  channel  to  its  ending  in  the  colon  at 
the  ileo-csecal  valve.  If  normal,  take  up  the  colon ;  begin  at  the 
caecum  and  find  that  it  is  not  too  far  down  in  the  pelvis ;  see  that 
the  sigmoid  colon  does  not  force  the  caecum  into  the  pelvis  and 
pull  womb,  bladder,  and  small  intestine  into  the  pelvic  cavity 
and  close  the  caecal  valve.  If  all  is  found  to  be  in  a  normal  con- 
dition, we  will  seek  further  for  some  cause  for  the  failure  in  pro- 
duction of  healthy  blood.  We  will  explore  the  whole  extent, 
beginning  with  the  ileo-caecal  valve,  and  up  the  right  side  to  the 
point  of  curvature,  where  the  transverse  colon  starts  to  cross 
the  abdomen.  If  that  division  be  found  good  after  careful 
examination,  we  will  then  take  up  the  subject  of  exploring  the 
descending  colon.  Follow  down  the  left  side  as  far  as  it  is  firmly 
attached  to  the  spine  by  the  mesentery  to  that  loose  division 
generally  known  as  the  sigmoid  flexure  or  division  of  the 
descending  colon.  This  division  is  very  liable  to  drop  into  the 
pelvis  hi  such  a  manner  as  to  make  a  stoppage  of  faecal  matter 
by  short  and  obstructing  kinks  of  the  colon,  through  which 
faecal  matter  cannot  pass  on  account  of  obstructions  just 
described.  If  no  trouble  is  found  after  a  careful  examination 
of  the  ileo-caecal  valve,  the  ascending  colon,  transverse  and 
descending  colon,  we  will  move  on  to  the  rectum  for  further 
observations.  If  that  division  is  found  to  be  truly  normal,  it 
would  be  useless  to  prosecute  a  further  exploration  of  the  ali- 
mentary canal  for  the  cause  of  diseased  blood.  We  will  now 
take  up  the  mesentery  at  its  highest  attachment,  pass  on  down 


THE  ABDOMEN.  l6l 

to  the  caecum,  and  see  that  there  is  no  undue  elongation  of  the 
membranes  that  hold  the  bowels  in  their  normal  position.  If 
the  spinal  attachment  is  found  to  be  truly  normal  with  the  spine 
and  the  large  bowel,  with  no  abnormal  kinks  or  twists  in  the 
folds  of  the  mesentery,  and  our  search  has  been  complete,  we 
will  also  have  to  report  this  part  of  the  investigation  as  good. 
The  colon,  from  the  caecal  valve  to  the  rectal  termination,  being 
normal,  we  will  proceed  no  further  with  the  exploration  of  the 
large  bowel,  but  take  up  the  small  intestine  for  the  purpose  of 
exploration  from  the  duodenum  to  the  caecum.  If  we  find  no 
undue  proportions  of  the  mesentery  in  the  region  of  the  duo- 
denum, particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  connection  of  the  gall- 
pipe  with  the  duodenum  and  the  pancreatic  duct,  we  will  journey 
from  this  point  downward  to  the  point  where  the  ileum  con- 
nects with  the  colon.  If  there  are  no  kinks,  folds,  intussuscep- 
tion of  the  bowels,  or  no  obstructions  by  hernia  or  faecal  matter, 
and  no  adhesions,  we  will  be  in  duty  bound  to  report  the  whole 
alimentary  canal  normal  from  mouth  to  anus,  and  seek  the 
cause  of  physiological  disturbance  in  some  other  system  of  the 
viscera. 

DISEASED  BLOOD. 

Let  us  reason  from  the  known  facts  that  we  possess,  when 
we  seek  for  causes  of  diseases  of  the  organs  of  the  abdomen. 
What  effect  does  diseased  blood  of  the  organs  of  any  part  of  the 
body,  by  its  progressive  injury,  produce  on  the  general  system 
by  its  poisonous  compounds  on  blood,  lymph,  and  nerve?  First, 
we  know  that  the  aorta  supplies  the  abdominal  viscera,  direct 
from  the  heart,  and  it  is  easy  to  find  just  where  the  blood  comes 
from  that  supplies  the  pancreas,  spleen,  liver,  stomach,  bowels, 
kidneys,  uterus,  omentum,  and  the  mesentery  system  or  any 
part  of  the  abdomen.  Also,  we  can  just  as  easily  find  the  ven- 
ous system  that  returns  the  blood  to  the  heart.  We  can  find 


1 62  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

and  follow  the  lymphatic  system  of  the  abdomen,  in  all  its 
functions,  to  the  heart  and  lungs,  with  its  supply  of  raw  mate- 
rial to  keep  up  the  supply  of  blood  for  the  whole  system.  We 
know  the  nerve-supply,  both  spinal  and  sympathetic,  for  the 
whole  abdominal  viscera,  its  uses  and  location.  With  this 
knowledge  of  nerve-,  blood-,  and  lymph-supplies,  we  are  well 
prepared  to  begin  to  reason  and  search  successfully  for  causes 
of  diseases  that  arise  in  the  abdomen  from  injuries  to  the  vis- 
cera, from  mechanical  or  other  causes,  or  hurts  to  the  organs, 
muscles,  glands,  or  membranes  of  the  abdomen.  In  diseases  of 
the  pancreas,  cause  for  disease  would  be  found  in  a  deranged 
nerve-,  blood-,  or  lymph-supply,  or  the  ducts  that  deliver  the 
pancreatic  juice  to  the  duodenum.  If  the  disease  should  ap- 
pear in  the  spleen,  the  same  system  of  searching  for  the  cause 
would  be  indicated,  to  find  the  cause  for  blood-  and  nerve- 
failure  in  keeping  up  the  normal  functioning  of  the  spleen. 
The  same  method  would  apply  to  the  liver  and  direct  the  seeker 
to  the  cause  that  was  responsible  for  diseases  of  the  liver  and 
gall-sac,  and  banish  from  the  doctor's  mind  all  doubt  as  to  the 
cause  of  tumors,  gall-stones,  cancers,  and  on  through  the  list  of 
liver  and  gall  diseases. 

We  all  know,  if  we  have  even  a  little  knowledge  of  anatomy, 
that  the  coeliac  axis  branches  out  from  the  aorta  just  below  the 
diaphragm,  and  supplies  the  pancreas,  spleen,  liver,  and  stom- 
ach. We  know  how  the  blood  returns  from  each  one  of  them, 
and  also  how  the  nerve-supply  leaves  the  solar  plexus  to  give 
blood-action  to  and  from  each  organ  of  the  abdomen.  Perfec- 
tion in  blood-flow  to  and  from  all  organs  must  be  perpetually 
normal  or  disease  will  show  its  work  in  lack  of  blood  to  supply 
the  local  or  general  nourishment  to  the  organ  that  is  diseased 
or  starved  for  want  of  blood.  If  the  arterial  supply  is  good, 
the  venous  and  lymphatic  systems  must  do  the  work  of  drain- 
ing, or  we  will  have  a  large  spleen  or  liver,  a  congested  stomach 


THE  ABDOMEN.  163 

or  pancreas,  all  from  the  break  in  the  blood-,  lymph-,  or  nerve- 
chain  of  supply.  This  law  holds  good  in  supplies,  drainage, 
purity,  and  health  of  all  organs  of  the  system,  just  as  well  as 
those  I  have  named.  The  cause  of  uterine  growths,  and  of  dis- 
eases of  the  intestines,  is  absolute ;  Nature  never  changes.  To 
find  the  obstruction  of  the  blood-  and  nerve-functioning  is  the 
object  of  the  person  who  reasons  and  cures  by  osteopathy. 

How  ABOUT  NATURE? 

Does  Nature  do  its  work  to  a  finish?  If  so,  we  have  a  last- 
ing foundation  on  which  to  stand.  Then  we  must  work  to  ac- 
quaint ourselves  with  the  process  by  which  it  proceeds  to  do  its 
work  in  the  physical  man.  Not  only  to  make  a  well-planned 
and  well-builded  superstructure,  but  to  care  for  and  guard 
against  the  approach  and  possession  of  foreign  elements,  that 
either  cripple  or  hinder  perfect  action  in  all  functions  of  the 
organs  to  form  protective  compounds  that  will  ward  off  the 
formation  of  fungous  growths  of  blood  and  flesh  before  the  lat- 
ter can  get  deadly  possession  of  the  laboratory  of  animal  life. 
Such  fungous  growths  as  microbes,  germs,  bacteria,  parasites, 
and  so  on  to  all  abnormal  formations,  are  reported  to  have 
been  found  in  the  bodies  of  the  sick  by  many  authors,  as 
results  of  their  investigations  of  the  compounds  in  the  blood, 
sputa,  and  stools  of  the  sick.  We  will  not  dispute  the  fact  that 
they  have  been  and  often  are  found  in  the  blood,  sputa,  and 
faecal  and  other  substances  of  the  body.  We  will  willingly  admit 
that  they  are  truths  as  reported  as  the  results  of  discoveries 
made  by  many  of  the  most  learned  and  painstaking  scientists 
of  years  of  the  past  and  of  the  years  of  our  own  day  and  gener- 
ation. That  the  student  may  the  better  comprehend  my 
object,  I  will  admit  and  agree  that  such  organisms  as  described 
are  found  in  lung  disease,  disease  of  the  stomach,  bowels,  liver, 
kidneys,  or  any  organ  of  the  system.  I  do  not  wish  to  dis- 


164  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  Otf  OSTEOPATHY. 

prove  their  existence,  but  wish  to  take  such  witnesses  and 
try  to  prove  that  all  such  abnormal  changes  have  a  cause  in 
suspension  of  arterial  or  venous  blood,  or  lymph,  the  excretory 
systems,  or  by  their  nerve-supply  being  cut  off  at  some  impor- 
tant point  of  the  physical  work.  A  clean  shop  is  just  as  neces- 
sary to  good  work  as  the  skilled  mechanic  is  to  the  construction 
of  the  part  desired.  A  careful  hunt  for  the  broken  link  that  has 
allowed  the  chain  of  life  to  fail  to  make  the  work  complete 
throughout,  and  let  We  substances  spoil  in  the  blood  or  lymph 
before  it  has  been  used  in  the  place  or  purpose  for  which  it  was 
designed,  must  be  instituted.  I  want  to  impress  upon  you 
that  all  bad  sputa,  poor  lymph,  and  defective  blood  are  effects 
only,  and  a  broken  link  is  the  cause,  and  bacteria  are  only  the 
buzzards  formed  by  the  biogen  that  is  in  the  dead  blood  itself. 

BASED  ON  FACTS. 

The  science  of  osteopathy  is  based  on  a  system  of  reason- 
ing that  does  not  go  beyond  principles  and  truths  that  can  be 
proven  to  exist  in  all  of  man's  make-up,  both  physical  and  vital. 
A  truth  can  always  be  demonstrated ;  otherwise,  we  may  have 
only  a  theory  that  is  awaiting  demonstration,  but  which  until 
demonstrated  does  not  merit  adoption,  neither  should  it  be 
taught  until  abundantly  proven  by  reliable  demonstration. 
Then,  such  truths  are  ever-living  facts  and  will  lead  the  pos- 
sessor to  good  results  all  the  time.  An  organ  is  supplied  by  an 
artery  sent  as  a  branch  from  some  principal  trunk,  and  that 
trunk  is  connected  to  others  that  run  back  to  the  heart  from 
the  territory  in  which  the  organ  is  situated.  If  the  work  has 
been  done  well  and  the  organ  is  found  to  be  normal  hi  size  and 
action,  we  have  found  a  demonstrated  truth  that  the  blood  was 
delivered  and  used  normally  by  the  forces  necessary  to  give 
form  and  function  to  organized  life.  We  prove  by  observation 
that  the  work  necessary  to  that  organ  is  true,  because  the  organ 


THE  ABDOMEN.  165 

is  perfect,  in  place,  size,  and  function,  which  could  not  be  if 
there  were  an  imperfection  in  the  blood,  its  vessels,  or  the  nerves 
of  the  organ,  or  those  by  which  it  was  constructed  and  kept  up 
to  meet  the  normal  demands  of  organic  life.  We  must  aim  to 
gain  a  commanding  knowledge  of  all  parts  of  the  body  and  the 
methods  necessary  to  keep  all  parts  in  position,  to  insure  the 
delivery  and  appropriation  of  the  blood  to  its  intended  use,  to 
build  the  organ  and  keep  it  normally  pure.  If  we  find  perfec- 
tion to  be  the  condition  of  an  organ,  we  are  justified  to  pro- 
nounce that  part  good,  until  some  accident  befalls  it  that  causes 
abnormal  features,  which  will  teach  you  that  a  failure  has  ap- 
peared in  some  part  of  the  supply  or  appropriation.  With  your 
knowledge,  you  are  warranted  in  seeking  the  cause  and  proceed- 
ing to  readjust  the  parts  from  any  imperfection  discovered  to  the 
original  condition  of  the  organ  and  all  thereunto  belonging,  pro- 
vided there  is  an  open  approach  from  the  heart  to  the  organ  and 
in  return  from  the  organ  back  to  the  heart.  When  you  have 
adjusted  the  physical  to  its  normal  demands,  Nature  univer- 
sally supplies  the  remainder.  I  think  I  have  said  enough  of 
the  importance  of  the  truly  normal  in  form  and  functions  of  the 
organs  of  the  body  to  take  up  and  make  special  application  of 
this  philosophical  guide  to  a  careful  search  for  the  true  cause  of 
any  variation  from  the  healthy  condition. 

BEGIN  AT  THE  RECTUM. 

I  will  proceed  to  draw  your  attention  to  natural  causes 
that  would  produce  the  beginning  of  diseases.  We  will  begin 
our  observation  at  the  very  foundation  of  the  abdominal  viscera, 
the  rectum,  the  colon,  back  and  up  the  left  side  to  the  point  that 
would  lead  across  the  abdomen  to  the  caecum,  whose  normal 
position  is  the  right  iliac  fossa.  It  here  makes  connection  with 
the  small  intestine,  and  is  also  provided  with  a  valve  to  admit 
fluids  when  passing  in  one  direction  and  to  refuse  the  return 


1 66  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

passage  of  any  substance  from  the  caecum  back  and  through 
the  small  intestine.  We  wish  to  travel  as  explorers  from  the 
rectum  through  the  large  and  small  intestines,  stomach,  and 
throat,  with  a  view  toward  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  normal 
position  of  the  different  divisions  of  the  alimentary  tract. 
Knowing  that  the  alimentary  system  is  an  all-important  part 
of  the  body  mechanism,  we  can  only  expect  good  and  healthy 
results  from  that  which  is  normal  in  the  whole  canal,  in  form, 
size,  and  position,  before  we  can  ask  for  normal  functioning, 
because  every  organ's  health  depends  without  doubt  upon  nor- 
mality in  every  principle  and  action  of  the  parts  of  the  ali- 
mentary canal  from  the  mouth  to  the  anus.  We  must  recog- 
nize the  importance  of  knowledge,  and  much  knowledge,  of  the 
alimentary  system,  without  which  the  osteopath  is  a  failure. 

THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  VISCERA. 

It  is  my  object  and  intention  to  prove  by  philosophy,  his- 
tory, and  demonstration  that  the  abdominal  viscera  are  respon- 
sible for  our  good  health,  and  that  they  are  the  sole  dependence 
for  our  normal  physical  forms  and  forces.  I  want  to  admonish 
the  student  of  this  philosophy  that  if  the  anatomical  forms  are 
definitely  correct  in  position,  and  held  in  that  position  by  nor- 
mal ligaments,  we  can  expect  perfectly  natural  work  in  every 
department  of  all  the  organs  of  the  abdomen,  the  present  field 
of  exploration.  It  is  just  as  reasonable  to  expect  that  variations 
from  the  normal  in  any  organ,  nerve,  or  blood-vessel  will  pro- 
duce diseases  in  the  functioning  or  the  nerves,  blood-vessels, 
and  adjacent  organs,  and  add  to  the  already  diseased  or  dis- 
turbed conditions  by  bulky  deposits  in  the  lymphatic  cells  and 
glands.  We  have  in  this  manner  a  new  obstruction  created 
from  the  thickened  membranes  and  flesh  through  which  blood 
and  other  substances  are  conveyed  from  one  organ  to  another. 
This  would  be  a  good  cause  to  set  up  deranged  conditions,  fer- 


THE  ABDOMEN.  1 67 

mentation,  inflammation,  and  pus-formation.  We  have  rea- 
soned and  demonstrated  to  the  physiological  anatomist,  who  is 
aided  by  his  knowledge  of  chemistry,  that  diseased  conditions 
must  follow  soon  after  stoppage  and  deposits  of  any  sub- 
stances. Local  fermentation  will  set  up  and  become  extended 
by  progressive  encroachment. 

That  the  student  may  understand  what  we  mean  by  liga- 
ments, or  ligamentous  attachments,  we  will  begin  with  the 
ascending  colon  and  ask  your  attention  to  its  attachment  to  the 
spine,  also  to  its  composition,  its  elasticity,  and  its  contractile 
power,  because  of  the  great  importance  to  know  how  far  this 
muscle,  meso-caecum,  will  allow  the  caecum  to  descend  into  the 
pelvis  with  other  divisions  of  the  bowels,  if  at  all,  without  tear- 
ing away  from  its  spinal  attachment.  Then,  we  will  carefully 
note  the  attachment  of  the  anchorage  of  the  transverse  colon, 
and  find  how  much  stretching  of  the  wandering  muscle  toward 
the  pelvis,  with  the  weight  of  the  bowels  and  their  contents,  will 
be  allowed  before  a  tear  or  separation  would  occur.  By  this 
observation  we  wish  to  be  informed  how  far  from  the  spinal 
column  the  transverse  colon  could  fall  down  toward  the  pelvis. 
We  will  now  take  up  the  descending  colon,  drawing  your  atten- 
tion to  its  attachments  by  such  membranes  as  confine  it  to  the 
spine.  Carefully  note,  with  great  caution,  how  much  the 
descending  colon  will  be  allowed  to  descend  by  the  elasticity  of 
its  mesentery.  The  mesentery  in  post-mortems  has  been  found 
to  have  grown  to  great  lengths  from  the  spine,  which  would  per- 
mit the  bowels  to  wander  from  their  natural  position,  filling  the 
pelvis  with  impacted  faecal  matter.  We  invite  the  attention  of 
the  patient  reader  particularly  to  the  mesenteries,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  receiving  and  giving  more  light  on  the  cause  of  typhoid 
fever,  constipation,  flux,  dysentery,  etc. 


1 68        PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  Otf  OSTEOPATHY. 

THE  MESENTERY. 

The  bowels  are  attached  to  and  held  in  place  by  a  web  or 
flat  rope  or  elastic  sheet  attached  to  the  front  of  the  spine  at 
one  extremity  and  the  other  extremity  attached  to  the  bowels. 
This  web  is  long  enough  to  allow  the  bowels  to  change,  roll,  or 
move  to'  different  places  in  the  abdomen.  It  is  well  for  the 
student  to  know  about  how  far  that  muscle  will  allow  the  bow- 
els to  move  from  their  normal  position,  while  diagnosing  any 
disease.  He  should  know  if  that  change  in  the  position  of  the 
bowels  would  or  could  impinge  on  the  natural  flow  of  the  blood 
and  other  fluids  for  general  purposes  in  animal  life.  How  much 
variation,  if  any,  of  the  bowels  can  be  tolerated  and  not  cause 
bad  results  ?  Many  grave  questions  arise  in  the  minds  of  the  stu- 
dents when  reasoning  on  the  failure  of  health  and  the  causes 
that  have  given  rise  to  that  abnormal  condition  hi  the  func- 
tioning of  one,  many,  or  all  of  the  organs  of  the  body.  As  there 
is  something  of  a  sameness  in  the  symptoms  of  many  diseases, 
we  would  naturally  reason  that  equal  causes  would  be  required 
to  give  a  soreness  of  spine,  limbs,  flesh,  and  brain,  hot  or  cold 
sensations  and  stupor,  and  other  symptoms  that  are  common 
to  all  climatic  diseases.  As  we  have  spoken  of  the  similarity 
of  symptoms  that  are  given  by  all  works  or  authors  on  general 
practice  or  therapeutics,  we  can  contrast  or  compare  their  gen- 
eral symptoms  as  proof  that  they  do  act  on  the  same  nerves  in 
just  about  the  same  way.  If  they  affect  the  nervous  system 
similarly,  then  the  causes  of  such  effects  belong  to  the  same 
systems  of  lymphatic  glands,  cells,  and  systems  of  nutrition 
that  belong  to  the  deep  and  superficial  fascia  or  pancreas. 

The  human  being  is  one  of  the  animals  whose  body  stands 
erect  or  perpendicular  to  the  earth.  He  stands  upon  two  feet. 
Other  animal  bodies  have  four  feet,  on  which  they  stand  and 
hold  the  body  in  the  horizontal  position  or  parallel  with  the 
earth's  surface.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  bodies  of 


THE  ABDOMEN.  169 

both  organs  are  fastened  to  the  spine  by  muscles  and  ligaments 
(mesentery),  which  are  prepared  in  size,  form,  and  strength  to 
hold  each  organ  to  its  normal  position  during  motion  and  rest. 
As  the  organs  of  the  four-footed  animals  are  suspended  under 
the  spine  and  hang  directly  toward  the  earth 's  center,  the  liga- 
ments would  be  normal  only  when  they  accommodate  the  organ 
to  that  horizontal  spine.  The  erect  body  of  the  two-footed 
animal  must  have  its  sustaining  ligaments  correspond  with  the 
erect  position  of  the  body,  with  the  strength  and  forms  to  suit 
the  weights  which  they  are  intended  to  support,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  more  powerfully  attached  to  the  spine  than  in  the  four- 
footed  animal.  In  man  we  may  expect  much  flopping,  twist- 
ing, and  kinking  in  the  mesentery,  producing  all  sorts  of  varia- 
tion from  the  normal  condition,  health. 

THE  OMENTUM. 

This  chapter  is  on  diseases  that  follow  injuries  of  the 
greater  or  lesser  omentum,  the  mesentery,  and  fascia.  All  con- 
tain great  amounts  of  blood-vessels  and  lymphatic  vessels  and 
glands,  peculiarly  arranged  to  supply  and  drain  each  system, 
with  all  the  nerves  necessary  to  the  force  required  in  the 
functioning  labors  of  secreting  and  preparing  material  sub- 
stances to  be  used  as  blood-force.  Any  person  who  has  ever 
been  in  a  butcher-shop,  slaughter-house,  or  on  a  farm,  and  has 
seen  the  farmer  kill  hogs  for  fresh  meat,  knows  that  the  hog  has 
a  fatty  covering  over  the  bowels,  and  that  the  farmer  calls  that 
sheet  of  fat  the  "caul  fat"  of  the  hog.  He  sees  the  farmer  cut 
this  fatty  sheet  loose  from  the  stomach  and  the  ligaments  that 
join  it  to  the  spine,  spleen,  pancreas,  and  diaphragm.  He  thus 
gets  a  general  idea  of  the  size  and  form  of  the  omentum  or  "caul 
fat,"  but  he  has  learned  nothing  of  its  use,  more  than  that  it 
is  spread  out  over  the  bowels.  The  student  of  anatomy  soon 
learns  that  it  is  in  man  about  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  wide  at 


170  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  O?   OSTEOPATHY. 

the  upper  end  and  rounds  off  to  suit  the  abdomen  as  it  descends 
from  the  stomach.  It  is  about  one-half  of  an  inch  thick.  It 
has  a  few  large  arteries  distributed  through  its  body  and  a  full 
supply  of  very  fine  arteries  that  furnish  blood  for  the  lymph- 
vessels  and  glands.  The  muscular  and  fibrinous  tissue-cells 
are  equally  well  supplied  with  blood. 

WHAT  Is  THE  FUNCTION? 

But  all  this  knowledge  does  not  give  light  on  the  function 
of  that  organ.  Let  us  halt  and  hunt  for  more  light.  It  is  evi- 
dent as  we  approach  the  omentum  and  take  into  consideration 
its  form,  its  blood-,  nerve-,  and  lymph-supply,  that  we  are  in  the 
presence  of  some  kind  of  a  manufacturer,  and  it  is  our  object 
to  become,  if  possible,  better  acquainted  with  the  object  for 
which  Nature  has  constructed  and  placed  the  omentum  in  such 
an  important  location.  If  it  is  the  office  of  this  organ  to  take 
up  the  lymph  and  other  crude  materials  and  construct  vital 
substances,  we  want  to  be  benefited  by  a  knowledge  of  that 
fact.  We  see  lymph-,  blood-,  and  nerve-systems  all  through  the 
omentum  and  its  attachments  in  all  its  parts.  We  see  the 
channels  through  which  substances  enter  the  omentum.  We 
know  the  origin  of  blood-,  nerve-,  and  lymph-supplies  from  dis- 
sections. We  know  this  is  a  laboratory,  and  have  reason  to 
believe  it  is  a  very  fine  one,  and  we  also  believe  that  it  is  respon- 
sible as  an  official  for  the  performance  of  great  duties  in  pro- 
ducing and  sustaining  healthy  conditions  of  the  whole  system 
by  the  purity  of  the  substances  it  collects,  prepares,  and  sends 
forth.  Without  that  perfection  we  cannot  reasonably  expect 
or  hope  for  good  health.  If  perfect  normality  in  all  its  active 
principles  is  a  guarantee  of  good  health,  is  it  not  just  as  reason- 
able to  guarantee  diseased  condition  of  the  whole  body  when  the 
omentum  becomes  diseased  by  wounds  or  injuries  of  any  kind  ? 

I  have  taken  up  my  pen  with  the  view  of  giving  a  few 
thoughts  on  the  use  of  the  omentum,  in  conjunction  with  the 


THE  ABDOMEN.  17! 

mesenteries,  in  keeping  the  body  physiologically  normal.  I 
take  up  this  subject  and  approach  it  with  consideration  to 
the  cause  of  disease  and  death,  in  the  hope  that  I  may  present 
the  responsibility  that  naturally  falls  upon  the  mesentery  and 
the  ornentum.  We  will  begin  with  the  membranous  attach- 
ments, starting  at  the  neck  and  following  the  spine  clear  on 
down  to  the  last  division  of  the  sacrum.  These  membranes  are 
attached  first  to  the  spinal  column,  and  then  to  the  various 
organs  of  the  neck,  chest,  abdomen,  and  pelvis.  We  wish  to  go 
beyond  the  simple  fact  that  organs  are  attached  to  and  held  in 
position  by  some  part  of  this  system  of  membranes,  well  known 
to  the  anatomist  by  the  name  of  peritoneum.  It  is  the  physi- 
ological action  and  productive  power  found  in  this  almost 
continuous  system  from  the  neck  to  the  sacrum  to  which  we 
wish  to  draw  the  student's  attention.  All  these  membranous 
attachments  from  the  neck  to  the  sacrum  are  abundantly  sup- 
plied with  nerves,  blood,  and  lymphatic  vessels.  Their  office 
as  such  is  known  to  be  that  of  secreting  and  sending  lymph  and 
other  substances  to  the  heart  and  lungs,  to  be  prepared  and 
returned  in  due  time  to  construct  and  keep  various  organs  and 
divisions  of  the  body  in  a  healthy  condition,  that  each  organ, 
separate  and  united,  can  keep  the  system  in  the  normal  con- 
dition which  we  recognize  and  call  good  health.  In  order 
that  we  may  proceed  correctly  in  considering  nutrition  as  being 
prepared  and  sent  forth  to  the  heart  and  lungs  for  sustaining 
the  body  normally,  we  will  halt  for  observation  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  meso-rectum,  meso-colon,  transversalis  and  descending 
colon,  and  the  small  intestine  throughout  the  attachment  of 
this  whole  system  of  the  mesentery.  We  will  first  take  the 
thought  of  the  mechanical  preparation  of  the  secretion  and 
reception  of  the  digested  fluids  as  absorbed  by  the  secretories  of 
the  mesentery.  We  will  also  seriously  consider  the  physiolog- 
ical functioning  during  the  collection  of  this  fluid  and  its  course 


172  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

in  receiving  the  finishing  touches,  previous  to  its  being  sent  out 
from  the  heart  and  handed  over  to  the  constructing  machin- 
ery of  animal  life.  We  wish  to  ask  of  your  reason,  how  much 
of  this  mesentery  system  would  be  required  to  produce  and 
sustain  perfect  health?  It  appears  to  me  that  no  other  answer 
would  be  given  that  would  be  satisfactory  to  the  man  of  reason 
short  of,  that  all  of  the  entire  mesentery  system  must  pull  to- 
gether all  the  time,  or  a  failure  of  some  organ  to  perform  its  duty 
will  undoubtedly  appear.  At  this  time  we  wish  to  dwell  par- 
ticularly upon  the  omentum  and  its  power  to  sustain  the  lungs 
in  a  healthy  condition  by  furnishing  in  part  or  in  whole  the 
substance  necessary  to  keep  lung,  muscle,  and  tissue  supplied 
with  muscular  form  and  force  to  receive  the  coming  sub- 
stances that  pass  to  the  lungs,  through  the  vena  porta,  to  be  pre- 
pared by  the  chemical  action  which  separates  the  impurities, 
and  the  physiological  power  necessary  to  reject  those  impuri- 
ties, to  receive  and  deliver  to  the  heart  the  suitable  substances 
to  be  sent  out  and  keep  up  the  continuous  repair  of  the  body, 
and  to  retain  the  lungs  themselves  in  the  very  best  working 
order,  that  they  may  be  able  through  the  muscular  and  nerve 
power  to  do  all  the  work  incumbent  upon  them.  Perhaps  it 
would  be  best  to  say  to  the  student  at  this  time  that  so  far  as  the 
writer  can  ascertain  from  post-mortems  reported  in  great  num- 
ber by  anatomists  after  investigations  of  diseases  of  the  heart, 
kidneys,  bowels,  uterus,  and  the  spleen,  universally  the  omen- 
tum has  been  found  in  an  abnormal  condition  in  cases  of 
tuberculosis  of  the  lungs.  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that,  so  far  as  I  can  obtain  any  evidence,  all  post-mortems 
show  that  the  otnentums  examined  have  been  diseased  or  found 
misplaced.  Foreign  growths  or  shrinkage  of  the  omentum 
have  been  found  in  all  post-mortems.  Since  then,  the  atten- 
tion of  the  writer  has  been  called  to  the  thought  that  possibly 
tuberculosis  was  more  of  a  disease  of  the  omentum  and  mesen- 


THE  ABDOMEN.  173 

tery  than  of  the  lungs.  With  this  view,  I  believe  that  at  an 
early  day  we  will  be  successful  with  lung  diseases — in  fact, 
with  diseases  of  all  organs  of  the  body — in  proportion  to  our 
acquaintance  with  the  omentum  and  mesentery.  Almost  the 
whole  list  of  diseases  of  climate  and  season  will  show  a  failure 
of  the  mesentery  to  sustain  health  through  normal  action, 
which,  when  properly  understood,  will  reveal  variations  from 
the  normal  and  physiological  workings  of  the  omentum,  mesen- 
tery, or  peritoneum  from  the  neck  to  the  sacrum.  In  proof  of 
this,  we  will  report  observations  on  our  conclusions  as  to  the 
cause  of  diseases  of  the  glandular  and  lymphatic  systems.  With 
the  evidence  we  have,  we  believe  such  variations  mark  the 
beginning  of  the  mesenteric  failures  in  some  function,  either  of 
the  blood-,  nerve-,  or  lymph-supplies,  and  physiological  failures 
to  act  to  their  full  normal  capacity  as  required  by  the  exacting 
demands  of  health. 

ESTABLISHED  ONE  CAUSE. 

When  the  beginning  cause  of  disease  is  found  and  estab- 
lished as  positively  as  can  be  reasoned  out  by  paralytic  falling 
of  the  bowels  into  the  pelvis,  when  a  wrench  of  the  spinal  col- 
umn has  been  given  with  force  enough  to  slip  the  vertebral  ar- 
ticulations and  inhibit  nerves,  then  we  have  proven  one  cause 
that  has  let  the  muscles  of  the  mesentery  give  up  contractility 
and  allow  the  colon  to  fall  into  the  pelvis.  Thus  we  see  the 
importance  of  a  perfectly  normal  spine  at  all  points  of  articu- 
lation. In  this  case,  to  fall  into  the  pelvis  is  just  as  certain  to 
follow  and  will  be  observed  by  the  bowels  as  strictly  as  falling 
bodies  observe  the  laws  of  gravitation.  We  have  a  heavy  pull- 
ing of  the  mesentery  attachment  at  the  spine  by  the  weight  ap- 
plied at  the  point  of  attachment  to  the  large  bowels,  giving  the 
bowels  abnormality  in  position  and  weight.  That  weight  rests 
directly  upon  the  organs  that  have  preceded  this  fall  of  the 
bowels  and  now  occupy  a  position  in  the  pelvis,  to  be  tortured 


174  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

by  the  oppressive  weight  of  the  bowels  loaded  with  immovable 
faecal  matter.  We  have  the  weight  lying  across  both  ureters, 
descending  from  the  kidneys  to  the  bladder.  We  have  irrita- 
tion of  the  kidneys  by  cut-off  of  the  flow  of  urine  between  the 
kidneys  and  the  bladder.  This  urine,  suspended  or  prohibited 
from  entering  the  bladder,  accumulates  to  an  irritable  quantity 
between  the  point  of  suspension  or  inhibition  and  the  kid- 
ney end  of  the  ureter.  We  have  a  qualified  condition  for  the 
absorption  and  distribution  of  uremic  poisons  in  poisonous 
quantities  by  the  secretory  system  of  the  abdomen.  We  have  a 
known  cause,  in  reason,  for  so-called  kidney  diseases.  We  feel 
we  have  proven  the  frequent  and  even  common  occurrence  of 
''wreckage "of  the  bowels,  bladder,  and  womb,  held  down  by 
contracture  of  the  abdominal  wall,  the  weight  of  the  bowels 
with  their  contents,  the  womb  and  its  congested  body,  and  all 
attached  membranes  and  fascia,  with  the  added  weight  of 
congestion  caused  by  detained  venous  blood.  Further  wreckage 
continues  by  interference  with  the  arterial  blood,  which  is 
stopped  from  reaching  its  natural  landings.  Another  conse- 
quence is  a  great  enlargement  of  veins,  lymph-cells,  cysts,  and 
tubes  of  receipt  and  distribution.  The  excretory  channels  also 
become  shocked  and  confused  as  effects  of  the  first  pelvic 
wreck.  From  that  confused  pile  of  wreckage,  we  can  easily 
account  for  the  formation  of  tumors  on  the  uterus,  bladder, 
rectum,  and  for  all  diseases  of  the  abdominal  viscera,  such  as 
tuberculosis  of  the  bowels,  kidneys,  liver,  pancreas,  and  spleen. 
All  these  effects  are  possible,  all  are  reasonable,  and  all  are 
indisputable  effects  that  follow  wreckage  of  the  organs  of  the 
abdomen. 

APPENDICITIS. 

At  the  present  time,  more  than  at  any  other  time  since 
the  birth  of  Christ,  the  men  of  the  medical  and  surgical  world 
have  centralized  their  minds  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  local 


THE   ABDOMEN.  175 

conditions,  excruciating  pain,  below  the  kidneys,  in  both  the 
male  and  female. 

For  some  reason,  possibly  justifiable,  it  has  been  decided 
to  open  the  human  body  and  explore  the  region  just  below  the 
right  kidney  in  search  of  the  cause  of  this  trouble.  The  explo- 
rations were  made  upon  the  dead  first.  Small  seeds  and  other 
substances  have  been  found  in  the  vermiform  appendix,  which 
is  a  hollow  tube  several  inches  in  length.  These  discoveries  led 
to  explorations  in  the  same  locality  in  the  living.  In  some  of  the 
cases,  though  very  few,  seeds  and  other  substances  have  been 
found  in  the  vermiform  appendix,  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of 
inflammation  of  the  appendix.  Some  have  been  successfully 
removed,  and  permanent  relief  followed  the  operation.  These 
explorations  and  successes  in  finding  substances  in  the  vermi- 
form appendix,  their  removal,  and  successful  recovery  in  some 
cases,  have  led  to  what  may  properly  be  termed  a  hasty  system 
of  diagnosis,  and  it  has  become  very  prevalent,  being  resorted 
to  by  many  physicians,  under  the  impression  that  the  vermi- 
form appendix  is  of  no  use,  and  that  the  human  being  is  just  as 
well  off  without  it. 

Therefore  it  is  resolved,  that  as  nothing  positive  is  known 
of  the  trouble  in  the  location  above  described,  it  is  guessed  that 
it  is  a  disease  of  the  vermiform  appendix.  Therefore  they 
etherize  and  dissect  for  the  purpose  of  exploring,  to  ascertain 
if  the  guess  is  right  or  wrong.  In  the  diagnosis,  this  is  a  well- 
defined  case  of  appendicitis.  The  surgeon 's  knife  is  driven 
through  the  quivering  flesh  in  great  eagerness  in  search  of  the 
vermiform  appendix.  The  bowels  are  rolled  over  and  around 
in  search  of  the  appendix.  Sometimes  some  substances  are 
found  in  it,  but  more  often,  to  the  chagrin  of  the  exploring  phy- 
sician, it  is  found  to  be  in  a  perfectly  healthy  and  normal  condi- 
tion. So  seldom  is  it  found  containing  seeds  or  any  substance 
whatever  that,  as  a  general  rule,  it  is  a  useless  and  dangerous 


176  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OP   OSTEOPATHY. 

experiment.  The  percentage  of  deaths  caused  by  the  knife 
and  ether,  and  the  permanently  crippled,  will  justify  the  asser- 
tion that  it  would  be  far  better  for  the  human  race  if  they  lived 
and  died  in  ignorance  of  appendicitis.  A  few  genuine  cases 
might  die  from  that  cause ;  but  if  the  knife  were  the  only  known 
remedy,  it  were  better  that  one  should  die  occasionally  than  to 
continue  this  system. 

ANOTHER  VICTORY. 

Osteopathy  furnishes  the  world  with  a  relief  here  which  is 
absolutely  safe,  without  the  loss  of  a  drop  of  blood,  that  has  for 
its  foundation  and  philosophy  a  fact  based  upon  the  longitu- 
dinal contractile  ability  of  the  appendix  itself,  which  is  able  to 
eject  by  its  natural  forces  any  substances  that  may  by  an 
unnatural  move  be  forced  into  the  appendix.  My  first  osteo- 
pathic  treatment  for  appendicitis  was  in  1877,  at  which  time  I 
treated  a  Mr.  Surratt  and  gave  permanent  relief.  During  the 
early  eighties  I  treated  and  permanently  cured  Mrs.  Emily  Pick- 
ler,  of  Kirksville,  mother  of  our  former  representative,  S.  M. 
Pickler,  and  mother  of  former  Congressman  John  A.  Pickler, 
of  South  Dakota.  The  infirmary  has  had  bad  cases  of  appendi- 
citis, probably  running  in  numbers  up  into  hundreds,  without 
failing  to  relieve  and  cure  a  single  case.  The  ability  of  the 
appendix  to  receive  and  discharge  foreign  substances  is  taught 
in  the  American  School  of  Osteopathy  and  is  successfully  prac- 
ticed by  its  diplomates.  In  the  case  of  Mr.  Surratt,  I  found 
lateral  twist  of  lumbar  bones.  I  adjusted  the  spine,  lifted  the 
bowels,  and  he  got  well.  When  I  was  called  to  Mrs.  Pickler, 
she  had  been  put  on  light  diet,  by  the  surgeon,  preparatory  to 
the  knife.  She  soon  recovered  under  my  treatment  without 
any  surgical  operation,  and  is  alive  and  well  at  this  date. 

MANY  QUERIES. 

To  many,  such  questions  as  these  will  arise.  Has  the 
appendix  at  its  entrance  a  sphincter  muscle  similar  in  action  to 


THE   ABDOMEN.  177 

that  of  the  rectum  and  oesophagus?  Has  it  the  power  to  con- 
tract and  dilate,  to  contract  and  shorten  in  its  length  and  eject 
all  substances  when  the  nerves  are  in  a  normal  condition?  And 
where  is  the  nerve  that  failed  to  act  to  throw  out  the  substance 
that  entered  the  cavity  of  the  appendix?  Has  God  been  so 
forgetful  as  to  leave  the  appendix  hi  such  a  condition  as  to 
receive  foreign  bodies,  without  preparing  it  by  its  power  of  con- 
traction, or  otherwise,  to  throw  out  such  substances?  If  He 
has,  He  surely  has  forgotten  part  of  His  work.  Reason  has 
taught  me  that  He  has  done  a  perfect  work,  and  on  that  line  I 
have  proceeded  to  treat  appendicitis  for  twenty-five  years, 
without  pain  and  misery  to  the  patient,  and  have  given  per- 
manent relief  hi  all  the  cases  that  have  come  to  me.  With  the 
diagnosis  of  doctors  and  surgeons  that  appendicitis  was  the 
malady,  and  the  choice  of  relief  was  between  the  knife  and 
death,  or  possibly  both,  many  such  cases  have  come  for  osteo- 
pathic  treatment,  and  examination  has  revealed  hi  every  case 
that  there  has  been  previous  injury  to  some  set  of  spinal  nerves, 
caused  by  jars,  strains,  or  falls.  Every  case  of  appendicitis 
and  renal  or  gall-stones  can  be  traced  to  some  such  cause. 

These  principles  I  have  proclaimed  and  thought  for  thirty 
years. 

GOD'S  WORK  COMPLETE. 

We  should  use  caution  in  our  assertions  that  Nature  has 
made  its  work  so  complete  in  animal  forms  and  furnished  them 
with  such  wisely  prepared  principles  that  they  could  produce 
and  administer  remedies  to  suit  the  occasion,  and  not  go  out- 
side of  the  body  to  find  them.  Should  we  find  by  experiment 
that  man  is  so  arranged  and  wisely  furnished  by  Deity  as  to 
ferret  out  disease  and  purify  and  keep  the  temple  of  life  in  ease 
and  health,  we  should  hesitate  to  make  known  the  fact.  The 
opposite  opinion  has  had  full  sway  for  centuries,  and  man  has, 


1 78  PHILOSOPHY   AND   PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY 

by  habit,  long  usage,  and  ignorance,  adjusted  his  mind  so  as  to 
submit  to  customs  of  the  great  past,  so  that  should  he  try,  with- 
out previous  training,  to  reason  and  bring  his  mind  to  the  alti- 
tude of  the  thought  of  the  greatness  and  wisdom  of  the  Infinite, 
he  might  become  insane  or  fall  back  in  a  stupor  and  exist  only 
as  a  living  mental  blank  in  the  great  ocean  of  life.  It  would  be 
a  great  calamity  to  have  all  the  untrained  minds  shocked  so 
seriously  as  to  cause  them  to  lose  the  might  of  reason  they  now 
have,  and  be  sent  back  once  more  to  dwell  in  Darwin 's  proto- 
plasm. I  tell  you  there  is  danger,  and  we  must  be  careful  to 
show  the  people  small  stars,  and  but  one  at  a  time,  till  they  can 
begin  to  reason  and  realize  that  God  has  done  all  that  the  wisest 
can  attribute  to  Him. 

WHAT  ARE  ABDOMINAL  TUMORS  ? 

At  this  time  the  term  "abdominal  tumors"  applies  to  the 
womb  and  its  appendages,  but  really  it  should  include  the 
tumefaction  of  any  organ,  muscle,  or  membrane  of  the  abdomen. 
But  the  tendency  to  attribute  such  growths  to  the  womb  as 
natural  to  its  various  productive  powers  seems  to  veil  the  eye 
of  the  gynaecologist  to  all  else  excepting  the  native  ability  of 
the  womb  to  grow  tumors  by  the  bushel.  Suppose  they  do 
grow,  where  and  what  is  the  parent  cause  that  deposited  the 
germ?  as  nothing  can  appear  or  exist  without  a  cause.  Either 
close  to  or  remote  from,  we  should  seek  with  determined  dili- 
gence for  the  cause  that  is  behind,  giving  life  and  form  to 
tumors  on  any  organ,  muscle,  or  membrane  of  the  abdomen. 
Abdominal  tumors  are  as  natural  as  gravitation.  Tumefaction 
is  only  the  natural  effect  that  follows  or  appears  in  the  abdomen 
or  pelvis  when  lymph  is  stopped  in  its  natural  channels  in  any 
organ  or  part  of  the  viscera  or  abdominal  wall.  In  the  abdo- 
men we  find  a  house  or  chamber,  all  nicely  prepared,  lined  or 
calcimined  with  tissues,  membranes,  and  fascia,  with  lymp'iatic 


THE  ABDOMEN.  179 

glands,  cells,  nerves,  veins,  and  arteries.  Then  in  the  abdo- 
men we  see  or  find  just  room  enough  for  the  easy  working  of  the 
organs  while  functioning  in  all  divisions,  and  reason  demands 
that  to  succeed  in  good  and  perfect  work  no  two  or  more  organs 
can  work  perfectly  when  one  is  crowding  on  another.  If  not, 
what  can  we  expect  but  strangulation  at  points,  and  the 
appearance  of  growths  that  develop  owing  to  the  stoppage  of 
lymph  in  the  lymph-channels  and  cells?  Thus  it  is  that  piles 
are  caused  by  pressure  on  the  bowels.  When  the  caecum  falls 
down  into  the  pelvis,  it  shuts  off  the  returning  blood  in  the 
hemorrhoidal  veins  and  gives  us  a  cause  for  tumors  of  the  rec- 
tum. Let  me  draw  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  as  sure  as 
the  caecum  drops  low  in  the  pelvis,  and  obstruction  of  faecal 
matter  appears,  then  you  have  irritation  of  the  bowels  and 
constipation,  with  the  weight  of  the  faecal  matter  of  the  large 
and  small  intestines  to  completely  stop  free  and  natural  action 
of  the  nerve-  and  blood-supply  of  the  contents  of  the  pelvis. 
Thus  we  have  no  pelvic  action,  because  it  is  wedged  full  to  over- 
flowing with  foreign  bodies  and  substances  that  ought  to  be 
held  back  and  off  by  then-  own  mesenteries.  They  have  failed 
to  keep  the  large  bowels  up  and  out  of  the  pelvis,  and  we  see 
cause  for  confusion,  the  beginning  of  pelvic  and  abdominal 
growths,  from  oedema  to  the  great  tumors  of  the  abdomen. 
The  student  of  anatomy  and  physiology  will  see  at  once  the 
cause,  beginning  in  the  pelvis  and  proceeding  from  the  anus 
to  the  tonsils,  creating  all  forms  and  kinds  of  abdominal 
tumors  and  cancers  of  the  bladder,  womb,  bowels,  kidneys, 
appendix,  pancreas,  stomach,  gall-sac,  liver,  spleen,  heart,  lungs, 
and  brain.  How  would  any  person  account  for  the  growth  of 
a  fibroid  tumor  of  the  uterus,  pelvis,  or  any  section  or  organ 
of  the  abdominal  viscera?  To  stop  a  river  with  an  ice-gorge 
does  not  stop  the  flow  of  water,  but  sends  it  to  surrounding  ter- 
ritory just  as  fast  as  the  gorge  builds  the  dam  up  higher,  and  it 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OK  OSTEOPATHY 

is  just  as  reasonable  to  know  that  a  dam  across  a  river  of  blood 
will  drive  the  blood  to  other  places  just  as  long  as  the  supply 
comes. 

PROLAPSED  VISCERA. 

Prolapsed  viscera  create  or  are  the  cause  of  many  dis- 
turbances of  the  nerve-  and  blood-currents.  Venous  blood 
dies  in  the  veins  to  such  a  degree  that  it  can  only  be  applied  to 
build  up  by  the  vital  help  given  by  the  lymphatic  veins.  We 
reason  that  this  is  the  cause  of  the  growths  in  regions  of  venous 
oppression  by  weights  or  strictures.  An  artery  has  much  force 
to  propel  blood  through  its  channel,  while  the  vein  has  but  lit- 
tle if  any.  Thus  the  arteries  can  keep  up  the  vitality  of  the 
venous  blood  or  lymph  and  build  mountains  or  great-sized 
tumors.  In  this  way  we  can  account  for  tumors  appearing  in 
many  places  in  the  body,  particularly  in  the  abdominal  viscera. 
A  venous  current  of  blood  stopped  in  return  does  not  die,  but 
is  kept  alive  by  the  vitality  of  the  arterial  blood,  and  builds  the 
excrescences  of  the  abdomen.  Beginning  at  the  sphincter  ani 
and  ending  at  the  brain,  we  see  the  effects  of  congestion  in 
tumefactions  and  general  or  special  abnormalities,  loss  of  hair, 
sight,  and  hearing,  diseased  tonsils,  nasal  membranes,  and  air- 
passages.  All  are  directly  or  indirectly  accounted  for,  and  it 
can  be  quite  easily  demonstrated  that  they  will  follow  disturb- 
ances of  blood-  and  lymph-circulation.  This  should  be  well 
comprehended  by  the  student  of  natural  philosophy,  particu- 
larly the  one  in  the  study  of  the  machinery  of  life.  He  can 
demonstrate  this  law  to  his  own  mind  by  adjusting  that  part 
or  foundation  over  which  the  blood  should  travel  from  the  aorta 
to  the  pancreas,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  nourishment  to  that 
organ  and  all  its  functioning  apparatus.  Having  already  ad- 
justed the  territory  through  which  the  arterial  vessels  pass,  to 
the  absolutely  normal,  with  the  flow  of  blood  free  and  easy 


THE  ABDOMEN.  l8l 

from  the  aorta  to  the  pancreas,  we  will  take  up  the  consider- 
ation of  the  venous  flow  from  the  pancreas  back  to  the  vena 
cava.  This  returning  current  of  blood  is  more  liable  to  do 
mischief  if  suspended  or  stopped  beyond  its  normal  time  in 
the  veins  of  the  pancreas,  becoming  a  cause  of  disease  and 
death  by  imperfect  production  of  pancreatic  fluids,  which 
should  be  perfect  before  entering  the  duodenum.  We  then 
have  reason  to  decide  that  imperfection  of  the  functioning  of 
the  bowels,  both  large  "and  small,  would  follow.  We  would 
expect  fever,  thirst,  constipation,  and  chronic  inflammation 
of  the  bowels  from  the  duodenum  to  the  ileo-caecal  valve. 
Also,  for  the  want  of  this  nourishment,  we  would  expect  to 
discover  a  weakness  in  the  nerves  of  the  mesenteries,  which 
would  be  followed  by  elongation  of  the  mesentery.  This  would 
lengthen  the  mesentery  and  allow  the  bowels,  by  their  weight 
of  faecal  matter  and  blood-  and  lymph-stagnation,  to  fall  very 
low  down  into  the  abdomen  and  pile  up  in  a  confused  mass. 
The  caecum  would  fall  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  pelvic  floor, 
and  the  ileo-caecal  valve  would  be  obstructed  under  this  pile  of 
fallen  bodies. 

Go  INTO  CAMP. 

Let  me  refresh  your  minds  that  in  dissections  the  spleen, 
kidneys,  stomach,  uterus,  bladder,  and  large  and  small  intes- 
tines have  frequently  been  found  in  the  pelvis.  I  want  you 
to  camp  on  the  borders  of  the  pelvis  again,  and  stay  there 
with  your  microscope,  both  in  hand  and  head,  until  you  know 
what  this  great  wreckage  of  the  viscera  has  produced  by  hav- 
ing been  thrown  into  the  pelvis  from  any  cause  whatsoever, 
either  mechanical  or  chemical.  We  must  remember  that  the 
pelvis  is  well  supplied  with  systems  of  nerves,  on  which  the 
health  and  vitality  of  every  organ  that  is  in  the  body 
is  dependent,  for  health  and  harmonious  systemic  support. 


182  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

With  us  the  foundation  of  life  must  be  solidly  constructed 
of  stones  of  the  highest  grades  of  purity,  or  your  house  will 
lean  toward  the  imperfect  stones  in  the  foundation;  your 
building  will  bulge,  crack,  decay,  and  fall  down,  and  become 
simply  a  heap  of  ruins  that  will  write  the  history  of  ignorance 
on  the  part  of  the  architect  and  builder.  The  foundations  of 
life  must  be  absolutely  good,  and  we  must  have  them  perfect 
before  we  proceed  from  the  pelvis  to  judge  and  adjust  other 
organs  of  the  abdomen. 

THE  LIVER. 

The  liver  swings  in  a  hammock  formed  of  five  ligamentous 
ropes,  attached  to  the  spine  and  diaphragm,  and  with  the 
abdominal  ends  firmly  fastened  to  the  liver  until  they  have  sur- 
rounded the  whole  organ  and  returned  to  the  spine  and  dia- 
phragm, making  a  swinging  bed  or  hammock,  or  basket,  to  suit 
the  form  and  functions  of  this  organ.  Normality  of  this  ham- 
mock hi  which  the  liver  rests  must  be  expected,  or  the  reverse 
of  health  predicted.  This  hammock  is  provided  with  the 
necessary  openings  for  the  passage  into  the  liver  of  blood 
and  other  fluids  necessary  to  the  functioning  process,  that 
should  not  be  disturbed  by  the  interference  of  blood-,  nerve-, 
and  lymph-supplies.  The  spine  must  show  mechanical  cor- 
rectness in  all  its  bearings  when  inspected  by  the  line,  plumb, 
and  level  of  the  osteopath's  highest  or  best  skill  and  his  well- 
trained  mechanical  genius,  which  should  be  of  the  highest  men- 
tal standards  of  anatomical,  physiological,  and  chemical  knowl- 
edge. We  believe  that  reason  will  bear  us  out  that  many, 
if  not  all,  of  the  so-called  liver  diseases  come  from  hurts,  jars, 
jolts,  temperature,  and  poisons.  Should  the  hammock  be  cut 
loose  at  any  point  of  its  attachments,  the  liver  would  suffer- 
This  can  be  illustrated  by  bringing  forward  the  case  of  a  lady 
who  is  comfortably  resting  in  a  summer  hammock,  when  some 
additional  weight  is  thrown  upon  the  hammock,  breaking  the 


THE  ABDOMEN.  183 

ropes  of  attachment  and  allowing  the  occupant  to  fall  to  the 
ground,  a  distance  or  one  or  many  feet.  She  is  shocked,  bruised, 
and  crippled  the  whole  length  of  the  spine,  and  probably  suf- 
fers injury  to  the  abdominal  viscera.  It  is  reasonable  to  know 
that  the  liver  while  in  its  hammock,  doing  the  duties  of  its 
office,  must  be  allowed  to  do  its  work  without  disturbance. 
The  osteopath  of  average  intelligence  needs  but  little  further 
explanation  to  comprehend  the  dangers  and  diseases  liable  to 
follow  a  disturbance  of  the  liver  while  in  this  hammock,  nest, 
basket,  or  resting-place,  prepared  by  Nature  to  hold  this  organ 
while  performing  the  duties  which  belong  to  it. 

THE  KIDNEYS. 

The  diseases  of  the  kidneys  are  as  follows: 
Congestion  of  the  kidney, 
Acute  parenchymatous  nephritis, 
Chronic  parenchymatous  nephritis, 
Interstitial  nephritis, 
Amyloid  kidney, 
Pyelitis, 
Acute  uraemia, 
Renal  calculi, 
Cystitis, 
Movable  kidney. 

FIGHTING  EFFECTS. 

Before  presenting  the  osteopathic  opinion  of  the  above 
list  of  kidney  diseases,  with  the  remote  and  active  causes  of 
their  appearance  as  abnormalities,  we  will  give  the  student 
the  benefit  of  the  best  up-to-date  theory  and  classification  of 
diseases  of  the  kidney.  The  very  best  authors  on  diseases  of 
the  kidneys  seem  to  be  satisfied  to  know  and  combat  the 
effects  of  those  diseases,  and  give  only  a  little  light  on  the  cause. 
We  see  this  is  the  case  with  many  writers,  who  simply  classify 


1 84          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

effects,  such  as  changes  of  the  urine  from  the  normal  to  the 
various  conditions  as  found  and  reported  by  urinalysis.  We 
have  an  extensive  description  of  the  kidney,  and  know  that 
congestion  and  inflammation  produce  many  bad  results,  but 
we  are  not  satisfied  to  proceed  further  without  inquiring  into 
the  causes  that  produce  the  effects.  The  first  question  that 
arises  according  to  the  tenets  of  osteopathy  is,  Has  the  kidney 
been  responsible  for  the  production  of  the  causes  of  its  own 
destruction?  If  not,  we  must  seek  to  discover  a  more  satis- 
factory explanation.  Leaving  the  kidney  for  a  time,  we  will 
examine  the  structure  and  location  of  the  ascending  colon, 
carefully  examine  the  mesentery  or  the  meso-cgecum,  and 
ascertain  if  the  membrane  or  white  muscle  attached  to  the 
bowels  is  long  enough  or  elastic  enough  to  allow  the  caecum  to 
descend  into  the  pelvis  to  the  perineum.  If  so,  the  hardened 
faecal  matter  will  become  the  irritating  cause  of  disease  by  pull- 
ing upon  the  spinal  attachment  of  the  mesentery  just  below 
the  kidneys.  If  the  caecum  has  fallen  into  the  pelvis,  and  the 
sigmoid  colon  thrown  from  left  to  right  in  this  region,  would 
it  not  compress  the  ileo-caecal  valve  and  stop  the  passage  of 
faecal  matter  from  the  small  intestine  into  the  colon?  By  the 
weight  of  this  impacted  faecal  matter  that  has  accumulated  in 
the  ascending,  the  transverse,  and  descending  colon,  the  ileo- 
caecal  valve  is  stopped  and  even  the  softer  fluids  are  prevented 
from  entering  the  colon.  We  have  in  this  a  cause  for  irritation 
of  the  pelvic  organs  and  suspension  of  the  flow  of  the  fluids 
of  the  pelvis,  and  the  whole  lower  division  of  the  abdomen 
becomes  filled  up  to  the  region  of  the  renal  system. 

OUR  BASIS. 

We  do  not  pretend  to  dispute  the  effects  of  the  foregoing 
list  of  special  named  kidney  diseases,  but  the  cause  that  has 
produced  those  effects  is  what  the  osteopath  must  look  for. 


THE  ABDOMEN.  185 

Without  a  good  knowledge  of  the  cause  or  causes  producing 
those  effects,  we  could  not  feel  justified  in  offering  any  sugges- 
tion in  the  treatment  of  those  diseases,  because  of  the  general 
failure  in  the  treatment  of  kidney  diseases  by  the  best  known 
medical  authorities.  The  dependence  of  the  medical  doctor 
for  the  relief  and  recovery  of  his  patient  in  renal  diseases  is  all 
in  one  common  channel — that  is,  drugs  to  suit  such  diseases 
as  listed  under  each  name,  notwithstanding  all  known  drugs 
have  been  a  failure  and  the  patient  dies  just  as  quickly  with 
them,  and  often  more  quickly  than  without  them.  I  have 
hinted  at  the  possibility,  the  probability,  and  the  certainty  of 
the  large  intestine  settling  down  into  the  lower  part  of  the 
abdomen  and  pelvis,  producing  a  partial  or  complete  obstruc- 
tion of  the  blood-  and  nerve-supply  of  that  division  of  the  body. 
I  believe  that  the  intelligent  student  will  argree  with  me  that 
ninety  out  of  every  hundred  of  the  cases  of  renal  diseases, 
stomach  diseases,  and  pancreatic  diseases  can  be  proven  by 
demonstration  to  have  their  origin  in  the  condition  of  the 
mesentery  "of  the  ascending,  transverse,  and  descending  colon, 
allowing  it  to  stretch  down  low  enough  to  cause  the  large  and 
small  intestines  to  be  responsible  for  the  effects  above  enumer- 
ated. I  think  right  here  is  where  the  M.D.s  have  shown  the 
least  sense  of  power  of  reasoning  in  relieving  constipation,  of 
the  real  causes  of  which  they  are  ignorant.  The  effects  that  go 
on  during  this  prolapsed  condition  of  the  bowels  are  plainly 
seen.  Any  man  with  a  fairly  good  anatomical  knowledge  will 
decide,  at  once,  that  we  have  here  a  philosophy  that  is  capable 
of  being  sustained  by  its  application.  I  think  here  are  facts 
that  will  make  the  advocates  of  medicine  blush  with  shame 
because  they  have  never  solved  the  question,  neither  have  they 
seen  nor  even  thought  of  it,  as  shown  by  the  best  authors  to 
this  day. 


1 86       PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

THE  STOMACH. 

Gas  is  formed  in  great  quantities  in  the  stomach,  in  the 
small  intestine,  and  in  the  colon.  Gas  is  also  formed  in  the 
lungs.  The  gas  that  forms  in  the  stomach  and  bowels  is 
formed  from  raw  or  crude  materials  that  are  taken  into  the 
stomach  as  nourishment.  The  fact  that  gas  is  generated  in  the 
whole  alimentary  canal  is  too  well  known  to  be  questioned  by 
anyone.  We  know  it  to  be  a  fact.  We  also  know  that  the 
whole  canal  from  the  mouth  to  the  rectum  is  fully  supplied 
with  secretory  ducts,  and  that  they  secrete  such  substances  as 
are  required  for  the  metabolism  of  these  parts.  We  know  that 
the  bowels  contain  fluids  and  gases  in  great  abundance,  and  it 
is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Nature  has  an  object  in  this  work 
of  generating  or  first  converting  food  into  gas.  We  have  no 
evidence  that  an  atom  of  flesh  or  bone  that  is  found  in  the 
body  has  not  been  reduced  to  gas,  either  in  the  bowels  or  lungs, 
before  it  became  blood.  Our  best  microscopes  fail  to  detect 
the  smallest  atoms  of  flesh  or  hair,  bones,  and  teeth.  We  have 
such  questions  as  this  before  us :  Could  the  atoms  of  a  hair  be 
reduced  to  such  fine  condition  in  any  other  way  than  through 
the  gaseous  process?  Astronomy  claims  that  worlds  are  only 
gas  condensed  from  vapor  to  solids.  If  so,  we  see  the  work  of 
condensing  done  on  a  large  scale  to  form  a  planet  of  eight,  ten, 
or  one  hundred  thousand  miles  in  diameter.  Another  question 
arises :  How  is  such  a  quantity  of  gas  formed  to  make  so  large 
a  planet  as  Jupiter,  sixty  thousand  miles  in  diameter?  or  Arc- 
turus,  seventy- two  million  miles  in  diameter?  Gas  seems  to 
be  native  to  space,  and  how  it  is  condensed  is  the  question  for 
astronomers  to  solve.  We  will  limit  our  study  to  man's  sys- 
tem only,  and  see  how  the  gas-works  in  him  form  the  fine  sub- 
stances found  in  his  make-up.  We  speak  of  digestion,  how 
various  fluids  are  compounded  and  the  changes  brought  about 
in  the  stomach  and  bowels,  and  how  additions  of  pancreatic 


THE   ABDOMEN.  187 

juice,  gall,  and  so  on  produce  a  fluid  that  is  taken  up  by  the 
absorbents  of  the  mesentery  and  called  chyme,  chyle,  and 
lymph,  and  united  with  venous  blood,  and  passed  by  way  of  the 
vessels  of  the  liver  and  on  to  a  successful  landing  in  the  lungs. 
There  we  find  our  eyes  beholding  this  blood  and  lymph  finished 
and  divided  into  two  hundred  million  parts,  with  that  number 
of  air-cells,  to  be  converted  into  gas,  the  impurities  separated 
from  the  pure,  the  bad  cast  out  and  the  good  condensed  to  blood 
and  sent  to  the  heart,  to  be  sent  out  and  appropriated  as  flesh, 
to  take  its  place  in  the  body  and  do  all  the  duties  incumbent 
on  the  economy  of  physical  life.  So  far  I  think  we  are  safe  to 
say  that  all  evidence  is  favorable  to  the  fact  that  bones,  teeth, 
muscles,  tendons,  nerves,  blood-vessels,  hair,  and  organs  of  the 
body  have  had  their  origin  from  gas,  and  are  only  condensed 
gas.  Now,  we  as  chemists  of  good  health,  to  succeed  in  cur- 
ing our  patients,  must  keep  the  gas-making  machinery  in  good 
mechanical  condition  to  do  laboratory  work,  or  we  surely  will 
fail  to  cure  or  even  relieve  our  patient. 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  DIGESTION. 

Digestion  is  food  reduced  to  atoms  of  gas,  both  by  chemical 
union  and  animal  heat.  The  stomach  is  a  finely  constructed 
gas-retort.  It  begins  the  process  of  mixing  food.  At  the  time 
of  swallowing  the  first  morsel  of  food,  it  forms  gas  very  fast, 
often  faster  than  the  secretions  can  take  it  up,  and  rifting  of 
wind  begins  in  order  to  relieve  the  oppression  of  the  stomach. 
Evidently  Nature  would  bring  food  to  its  highest  purity  to 
make  blood.  Thus  the  demand  would  be  imperative  for  the 
reduction  of  all  food  to  its  lowest  atoms,  and  as  gas  is  that 
degree  of  the  atom,  it  would  be  reasonable  that  the  machinery 
to  suit  gas-making  would  be  abundantly  supplied  in  the  body. 
The  task  for  the  wise  man  is  to  find  and  locate  the  machinery 
that  does  the  work  of  converting  the  food  into  gas.  As  we 


1 88  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

have  located  the  stomach  and  proven  that  it  begins  the  proc- 
ess of  gas-generating,  we  will  follow  the  next  step  and  begin 
at  the  duodenum,  where  the  partially  mixed  food  passes  out 
of  the  stomach  and  receives  gall,  pancreatic  juice,  and  other 
chemicals.  Here  more  gas  is  formed  by  chemical  action  in  the 
small  intestine  and  passed  into  the  mesentery  from  the  bowels, 
clear  on  to  the  ileo-caecal  valve  and  on  to  the  colon,  the  third 
and  last  division  of  the  intestinal  apparatus,  which  reduces 
substances  to  gas  by  stale  fermentation  and  gives  that  gas  to 
the  great  sheets  of  mesentery  attached  to  the  bowels  and  sup- 
plied with  networks  of  lymphatics,  whose  work  is  to  absorb 
the  atoms  of  nourishment  from  the  colon  and  pass  them  on  to 
the  thoracic  duct  and  on  to  the  liver,  lungs,  and  heart.  Thus 
we  recognize  the  importance  of  keeping  the  gas-making 
machinery  in  good  working  order,  by  keeping  out  all  kinks 
and  twists  in  any  part  or  division  of  the  mesentery  and  small 
and  large  intestines.  Is  the  machinery  of  the  alimentary 
canal  all  that  belongs  to  the  process  of  refining  food  previous  to 
its  transformation  into  blood?  No;  we  have  another,  and  the 
greatest  gas-works  of  all,  when  we  get  to  the  lungs,  which 
receive  the  lymph  almost  in  its  pure  state  with  the  venous  blood 
for  its  highest  refining  process  before  it  can  go  to  the  heart  as 
living  blood.  Thus  we  enter  and  close  the  whole  process  of 
forming  blood  through  the  gas  process  of  digestion,  the  only 
reasonable  method  of  getting  bread  into  the  condition  of  living 
blood. 

THE  PROCESS  OP  DIGESTION  BY  ELECTRICITY. 
Take  a  halt,  reason,  and  answer  this  one  question:  Has 
electricty  any  quality  except  force  ?  Does  it  simply  move  worlds 
and  such  bodies  as  have  form  and  motion?  If  a  large  tree  is 
torn  to  atoms  by  electricity,  does  electriciy  do  that  powerful 
work?  Or  does  it  cause  an  explosion  of  the  elements  found  in 
the  tree?  Digestion  is  my  object  of  inquiry.  Man  eats  and 


THE  ABDOMEN.  189 

drinks  of  almost  all  birds,  beasts,  and  reptiles.  He  masticates 
until  his  teeth  are  all  gone.  He  swallows  hard  chunks  of  beef 
and  other  diets  without  mastication,  with  but  little  change 
that  is  apparent  in  his  health  and  strength.  At  this  point  I 
will  say  that  I  am  not  satisfied  with  the  explanations  of  our 
physiologists  on  the  subject  of  digestion.  They  tell  us  we 
chew,  swallow,  and  our  food  goes  through  many  changes  in  the 
stomach,  and  they  stop  after  giving  us  a  few  Greek  words, 
such  as  osmosis,  exosmosis,  endosmosis,  motion,  get  out,  get  in. 
Back  to  my  question :  Have  we  not  great  reason  to  believe  that 
digestion  is  Nature's  process  of  reaching  matter  that  is  to  be 
converted  to  the  finest  gaseous  atoms  before  it  can  be  formed 
into  blood?  If  that  be  true,  surely  our  diets  must  be  combus- 
tible, and  electricity  causes  the  combustion  and  separation  of 
the  atoms  of  substances  eaten  by  man  and  beast. 

CONSTIPATION  OF  THE  BOWELS. 

Gould  says:  "Constipation  is  a  condition  of  the  bowels 
in  which  the  bowels  evacuate  at  long  periods  apart."  This 
gives  the  ordinary  meaning  of  the  word,  but  we  must  learn 
more  of  the  causes  that  produce  the  effect  known  as  constipation. 
As  a  disease  it  varies  in  degrees  of  severity.  Some  cases  of 
constipation  run  from  two  to  fourteen  days,  and  are  not  then 
relieved  without  the  use  of  purgatives,  or  the  use  of  water  with 
or  without  compounds  to  soften  the  hard  and  dry  faeces.  A 
halt  has  come ;  the  bowels  have  failed  in  their  function ;  the 
power  to  pass  out  faecal  matter  is  lost  or  overcome  from  some 
cause.  Irritation  from  hard  and  bulky  accumulation  sets  up  and 
disturbs  the  nervous  system,  fever  follows,  backache,  headache, 
and  general  abdominal  disturbances  come  on,  with  various 
annoyances,  such  as  piles,  kidney  troubles,  bladder  and  womb 
diseases,  womb,  rectum,  ovarian,  and  abdominal  tumors,  en- 
larged and  cancerous  liver,  gall-stones,  bladder-stones,  sour 


190  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  O*   OSTEOPATHY. 

stomach,  loss  of  appetite,  flatulency,  congestion  of  the  spleen 
and  pancreas,  stopping  the  normality  in  all  organs  of  the 
abdomen  and  pelvis,  until  the  heart  and  lungs  are  reached  in 
the  progressive  effects  of  constipation.  All  these  effects  come 
with  constipation.  But  the  cause  of  all  this  trouble  from  the 
bowels  not  acting  normally  has  not  been  shown  to  the  student 
by  the  writers  on  disease.  The  fascia,  mesentery,  and  peri- 
toneum have  not  been  reported  on  as  causes,  while  being  held 
in  an  irritable  strain  by  the  large  bowels  being  out  of  their  nor- 
mal places,  by  having  been  forced  into  the  pelvic  cavity.  This 
pressure  across  the  abdomen  when  the  bowels  are  full  of  faecal 
matter  pushes  the  caecum  down  to  the  pelvic  floor  and  forces 
it  to  stay  there  by  the  size  and  weight  of  the  sigmoid  colon.  It 
closes  the  entry  from  the  ileum  to  the  caecum,  and  cuts  off  the 
chances  of  the  small  intestine  to  supply  the  colon  with  water 
and  other  fluids,  to  keep  the  faecal  matter  soft  enough  to  be 
forced  through  the  colon  and  out  of  the  body. 

THE  TREATMENT  OF  CONSTIPATION. 

The  general  understanding  of  constipation  as  taught  and 
practiced  through  all  these  ages  has  been  that  there  is  much  or 
some  faecal  matter  detained  in  the  large  intestine,  beginning 
with  the  caecum,  ascending,  transverse,  and  descending  colon 
to  the  rectum.  It  also  means  that  faecal  matter  from  some 
cause  becomes  hard  and  dry  and  accumulates  in  the  large  bowel 
because  it  is  too  dry ;  that  the  mucous  membrane  has  lost  its 
power  of  furnishing  the  fluids  necessary  to  force  the  passage  of 
the  albuminous  substances  by  removing  friction  between  the 
faecal  body  and  the  membranes  of  the  inner  surface  of  the 
bowels.  It  is  a  reasonable  proposition  that  it  would  take  more 
force  to  push  a  dry  body  over  a  dry  place  than  it  would  to  push 
a  moist  body  over  a  well-lubricated  surface.  A  question  arises : 
From  what  part  of  the  body  does  this  faecal  lubricating  sub- 


THB   ABDOMEN.  IQI 

stance  come?  If  from  the  colon,  evidently  it  would  furnish 
this  fluid,  lubricate  the  faecal  matter,  and  peristaltic  action 
would  easily  pass  the  substance  on  and  out  through  the  whole 
channel  of  the  colon  from  the  caecum  through  to  the  rectum. 
We  are  told  that  the  colon  does  not  furnish  enough  lubricating 
fluid  for  this  purpose ;  therefore  we  will  seek  for  a  more  abund- 
ant supply  from  some  other  source,  which  would  take  us  back, 
with  our  anatomical  and  physiological  knowledge,  to  the  pan- 
creas. We  will  halt  at  the  duodenum,  to  examine  the  gate 
through  which  this  fluid  passes.  If  an  obstruction  is  at  this 
point  in  the  form  of  thickened  membranes,  gall-stones,  or  any 
other  bulky  substances  that  would  shut  off  the  pancreatic  duct 
by  stricture  or  interference,  we  should  proceed  at  once  to 
remove  the  obstructing  cause  that  prohibits  the  free  entry  of  the 
pancreatic  juice.  If  constipation  should  resist  all  ordinary 
methods  of  relief,  with  a  good  supply  of  pancreatic  juice  in  the 
small  intestine,  we  should  inspect  every  inch  from  the  duo- 
denum to  the  ileo-caecal  valve,  with  the  view  of  finding  the 
obstruction.  At  this  point  is  the  union  or  entry  of  the  small 
intestine  into  the  colon,  a  point  about  two  or  three  inches  above 
the  rounded  end  of  that  part  of  the  colon  known  as  the  caecum. 
We  are  very  likely  to  find  the  obstruction  at  the  ileo-caecal 
valve,  the  terminal  of  the  small  bowel,  with  the  caecum  fallen 
and  forced  into  the  pelvis  from  the  right  iliac  fossa.  This 
would  destroy  the  ability  of  the  small  intestine  to  pass  this 
fluid  to  the  colon  and  lubricate  the  large  intestine  with  the 
pancreatic  fluids.  Then,  as  mechanics  of  osteopathy,  we  will 
take  the  knee-and-chest  position,  place  the  hands  upon  the 
abdomen,  draw  the  caecum  out  of  the  pelvis,  and  give  exit  to  the 
pancreatic  juice  from  the  small  to  the  large  intestine,  because 
we  have  found  the  cause  of  obstruction  and  know  the  remedy 
to  be  applied.  When  the  caecum  is  drawn  from  the  pelvis  and 
the  ascending  colon  is  brought  back  to  its  normal  position  in 


IQ2  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

the  right  iliac  fossa,  with  the  rounded  end  about  level  with  the 
symphysis,  we  can  expect  the  ileo-csecal  valve  to  give  passage 
to  the  fluids  detained  in  the  small  intestine  and  discharge  them 
freely.  The  fluids  of  the  small  intestine  should  be  forwarded 
through  the  ileo-caecal  valve  in  order  to  keep  the  contents  of 
the  colon  in  a  soft  and  movable  condition,  a  condition  in  which 
peristaltic  action  is  able  to  keep  the  faecal  .matter  in  constant 
motion.  We  thus  have  a  known  cause  for  constipation,  which 
is  simply  a  failure  of  the  fluids  of  the  small  intestine  to  enter 
the  large.  When  the  liquid  substances  have  passed  from  the 
small  to  the  large  intestine  through  the  ileo-caecal  valve,  then 
we  can  expect  a  commotion,  a  colicky  feeling  throughout  the 
whole  extent  of  the  colon,  because  of  the  addition  of  the  fluids 
coming  from  the  small  bowel,  which  are  forced  into  the  large 
intestine  and  greatly  increase  the  bulk  already  occupying  the 
large  intestine.  This  bulk  is  increased  in  size  by  the  soft  fluids 
dissolving  the  harder.  In  that  condition  there  is  need  that  the 
ascending  colon  be  normal,  that  the  transverse  colon  have  its 
proper  position,  and  that  all  parts  to  the  point  of  descent  and 
through  the  sigmoid  division  be  absolutely  normal. 

In  the  treatment,  carefully,  while  in  the  knee-and-chest 
position,  with  gentle  pressure  in  the  vicinity  of  the  symphysis, 
give  a  gliding  move  up  toward  the  left  kidney,  follow  the  trans- 
verse colon,  raise  any  sagging  that  may  be  found  in  that  divi- 
sion with  a  gentle  upward  move,  without  any  gouging  of  the 
fingers,  and  raise  the  whole  alimentary  system  up  toward  the 
umbilicus.  Should  there  be  very  much  colicky  feeling,  gently 
lift  the  bowels  from  the  rectum  back  through  the  sigmoid 
division  and  descending  division  of  the  colon,  clear  back  to  the 
ileo-caecal  valve.  Be  careful  not  to  let  the  caecum  fall  back  into 
the  pelvis,  to  the  condition  that  would  shut  off  the  ileo-caecal 
valve  and  prohibit  the  continuous  flow  of  the  soft  fluids  into 
the  colon.  This  is  a  successful  method  to  unload  the  colon 


THE  ABDOMEN.  193 

from  the  caecum  to  the  rectum  if  there  be  twists,  kinks,  tel- 
escoping, adhesions  to  the  bowels,  or  stoppage  at  the  ileo-caecal 
valve  by  gall-stones  or  hard  foreign  substances  that  may  have 
been  swallowed.  First  raise  the  caecum  from  the  pelvis  to  its 
normal  position,  then  the  transverse  colon  that  may  have  fal- 
len ;  also  correct  the  left  division  to  the  sigmoid,  which  becomes 
an  obstruction  when  it  falls  into  the  pelvis.  I  say  at  this  point 
that  the  folds  of  the  meso-caecum,  meso-transversalis,  and  the 
meso-colon  can  generally  be  easily  readjusted.  Twists,  kinks, 
and  various  obstructions  to  the  passage  of  the  fluids  through 
the  colon  can  be  overcome  and  the  obstruction  cease  to  exist, 
and  the  normal  action  of  the  bowels  brought  about. 

SKILL  NECESSARY. 

I  have  given  the  student  a  general  rule  of  procedure  in 
cases  of  constipation,  with  the  expectation  that  he  will  use 
some  intellectual  skill  as  he  proceeds.  The  effects  following 
the  condition  of  the  colon  just  described  by  the  suspension  of 
fluids  from  the  small  intestine,  producing  the  class  of  mechan- 
ical irritations  that  accompany  the  impacted  colon,  will  be 
given  under  the  proper  heading  and  place,  diseases  of  the  rec- 
tum, bladder,  womb,  kidneys,  stomach,  bowels,  liver,  pancreas, 
spleen,  mesentery,  and  glands  of  the  abdomen. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


The  Pelvis. 

DISEASES  OF  THE  BLADDER. 

When  we  take  up  the  diseases  of  an  organ  or  vessel,  such 
as  the  bladder,  we  must  reason  how  such  a  part  is  made,  by 
tracing  out  its  nerve-  and  blood-supply.  This  being  the  case, 
we  will  go  back  to  the  first  appearance  of  the  bladder  in  the 
babe.  We  find  the  bladder  to  be  a  part  of  the  peritoneum, 
or  formed  of  the  peritoneum.  Then  we  go  to  the  blood-  and 
nerve-supply  of  the  peritoneum,  and  look  there  for  defects, 
because  the  failure  to  keep  the  system  normal  would  naturally 
be  found  in  the  blood-  and  nerve-supply  that  give  supply  and 
force  to  the  bladder.  Thus  the  two  supplies,  blood  and  nerve, 
must  be  normal,  or  disease  will  show  in  the  bladder,  kidneys, 
and  all  organs  of  the  body. 

The  nerve-supply  of  the  bladder  is  from  the  third  and 
fourth  sacral,  and  also  the  hypogastric  plexus  of  the  sympa- 
thetic. The  arteries  are  the  superior  and  inferior  vesical,  and  in 
the  female  the  uterine  artery  also.  The  veins  are  the  radicals 
of  the  internal  iliac. 

THE  RECTUM. 

It  is  my  object  at  this  point,  in  seeking  further  causes 
for  the  diseases  of  the  abdomen,  to  make  another  beginning- 
point,  with  the  rectum,  which  presents  various  kinds  of 
diseases.  We  have  congestion,  inflammation,  ulceration, 
cancer,  prolapse,  piles,  constricture,  inversion,  and  dilatation 


THE    PELVIS.  195 

-following  an  interference  of  the  nerve-power  of  the  muscles  of 
the  anus,  which  fail  to  contract  with  force  sufficient  to  keep 
the  bowels  in  their  normal  position.  Outside  of  the  effects  of 
poisonous  substances  that  have  removed  the  mucous  mem- 
brane either  by  injection  of  such  substances  into  the  bowels 
or  administered  by  way  of  the  mouth — I  say,  outside  of  the 
poisonous  effects  of  the  drugs,  we  have  inflammation,  ulcera- 
tion,  and  so-called  cancerous  formations. 

BLOOD-  AND  NERVE-SUPPLY. 

We  know  from  our  anatomical  knowledge  that  the  lower 
bowel  receives  its  blood-supply  from  the  superior  and  inferior 
hemorrhoidal  arteries.  The  nerve-supply  governing  arterial 
and  venous  circulation  and  lymphatics  of  this  portion  of  the 
alimentary  tract  comes  from  the  pelvic  plexus.  Neither  the 
blood-supply  nor  nerve-force  should  be  disturbed  or  suspended 
by  mechanical  or  from  other  cause  that  would  produce  paralysis 
of  the  vessels  or  nerves  while  in  receipt  or  discharge  of  the  fluids 
intended  to  keep  the  rectum  in  a  perfectly  normal  condition. 
When  we  investigate  the  blood-  and  nerve-force  which  has  suf- 
ered  a  local  suspension,  we  have  two  truths  before  us  seeking 
our  acquaintance.  One  is  the  blood-  and  nerve-supply,  the  other 
is  the  nerve-force  and  blood  in  return  action.  The  one  governs 
the  arterial  supply,  the  other  the  veins  and  excretories  or  drain- 
age. We  are  not  justified  in  saying  or  thinking  that  we  have 
given  a  wisely  constructed  or  judicious  opinion,  and  omit  the 
most  careful  inspection  with  the  eye,  to  detect  any  and  all  varia- 
tions from  the  perfect  mechanical  condition.  Undisturbed  rela- 
tions must  exist  in  this  part  of  the  machinery,  whose  business  it  is 
to  receive  blood  and  construct  and  purify  to  the  last  atom  every 
muscle,  vein,  and  artery,  even  of  the  nerve  itself.  As  we  have 
found  an  unhealthy  condition  of  the  rectum,  or  that  part  of 
the  bowel  whose  location  is  confined  to  the  pelvis,  it  is  wisdom 


196  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

to  seek  an  acquaintance  with  mechanical  causes  that  obstruct 
the  flow  of  blood-  and  nerve-forces  to  and  from  the  lowest  parts 
of  the  rectum.  At  this  point  of  exploration,  we  will  consider 
the  pelvic  chamber  as  a  cup  or  tub-shaped  chamber,  larger  at 
the  top  than  at  the  bottom.  We  must  see  and  know  that  no 
infringement  on  this  territory  exists  by  the  unnatural  occu- 
pancy of  this  tub-shaped  vessel  by  the  caecum,  which,  as  we 
have  shown,  is  often  driven  into  the  pelvis  by  strains  and  jolts, 
and  very  often  by  the  use  of  powerful  purgatives,  also  follow- 
ing efforts  to  liberate  the  bowel  from  faecal  matter  or  any 
chemical  or  irritating  substances.  If  we  find  the  caecum  in  a 
woman,  by  digital  examination,  occupying  the  pelvis,  a  condi- 
tion easily  discovered  through  the  vaginal  wall,  we  have  dis- 
covered one  cause  of  pressure.  When  the  mesentery  has  been 
pulled  down  by  cross-pressure  of  heavy  weights  on  the  abdo- 
men, the  caecum  can  be,  has  been,  and  will  be  pushed  clear 
down  into  the  pelvic  chamber  to  the  perineum,  which  your 
knowedge  of  anatomy  guarantees  to  be  a  correct  conclusion 
as  to  the  abnormal  position  of  that  division  of  the  colon.  This 
knowledge  should  be  sought  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, when  we  have  diseases  of  the  rectum  and  their  remote 
and  immediate  causes  for  consideration.  Let  us  follow  the 
fact  that  when  the  caecum  has  descended  into  the  pelvis,  it  pulls 
heavily  on  the  transverse  colon,  and  it  also  irritates  the  nerv- 
ous system  of  the  abdomen.  In  this  condition,  that  division 
of  the  colon  known  as  the  sigmoid  flexure  can  be  thrown  from 
its  normal  position  in  the  left  iliac  fossa  to  the  right,  with 
the  whole  train  ditched  and  piled  up  in  the  pelvis.  A  person 
of  very  superficial  anatomical  knowledge  would  know  that  the 
colon  was  badly  ditched,  when  the  wreck-train  of  inspection 
is  put  into  active  operation.  We  use  the  very  common  and 
well-known  term  "ditched,"  because  our  patient's  bowels  are 
ditched,  and  badly  ditched,  and  we  are  expected  to  straighten 


THE    PELVIS.  197 

the  track  and  replace  every  car;  otherwise  we  are  worse  than 
failures.  Our  patient  will  die  a  death  that  should  be  charged 
to  our  anatomical  stupidity  when  we  pose  as  skillful  osteo- 
pathic  mechanics. 

THE  UTERUS. 

We  will  introduce  the  subject  of  diseases  peculiar  to  woman 
by  drawing  memory  to  her  organs  which  become  temporarily 
deranged  before  she  feels  that  she  must  call  in  skilled  help.  Let 
us  open  the  subject  with  a  few  questions  of  vital  importance  in 
the  search  for  facts  that  will  support  a  positively  correct  diag- 
nosis, before  we  offer  our  services  in  her  behalf  with  the  hope 
of  a  cure,  or  before  we  will  even  make  an  effort  to  give  her 
temporary  or  permanent  relief.  To  assist  the  student  in  a 
cautious  hunt  and  correct  decision  on  the  course  to  pursue  to 
obtain  such  results,  we  will  go  to  her  abdominal  house  and 
see  how  it  is  furnished,  and  discover  for  what  each  part  is 
intended,  what  it  performs,  and  how,  where,  and  through  what 
blood-vessels  supplies  are  delivered  to  keep  each  part  normal 
in  all  particulars.  Can  an  organ  be  normal  and  be  starved? 
Can  an  organ  be  normal  and  be  twisted,  when  it  is  naturally 
straight?  Can  an  organ  be  normal  and  another  organ  prohibit 
the  blood  from  coming  to  nourish  that  organ,  to  keep  it  strong 
and  active,  that  it  can  do  its  own  part  and  assist  other  organs 
when  one  depends  much  or  little  on  the  other  for  assistance? 
Can  an  organ  do  its  part  with  other  organs  pressing  on  it  too 
heavily?  I  have  asked  a  few  questions  pertaining  to  organic 
action  and  life,  because  Nature  is  a  school  of  questions  and 
answers,  which  seems  to  be  the  only  school  in  which  man  learns 
anything.  This  being  true,  we  will  make  a  list  of  woman's 
abdominal  furniture  and  its  location  in  the  abdominal  house. 
I  need  not  give  a  list  of  the  names,  locations,  and  functions  of 
the  abdominal  organs,  because  I  think  you  know  these;  but  I 


198  PHILOSOPHY  ANt>  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

will  give  the  list,  or  nearly  so,  to  keep  them  before  your  eye  and 
assist  you  in  recognizing  the  confusion  that  would  make  a 
tumor,  leucorrhoea,  cancers,  etc.,  targets  for  allopathy  to  shoot 
at  with  speculum,  probe,  and  caustic.  We  will  begin  above  or 
at  the  upper  beginning  of  the  abdominal  wall,  the  diaphragm. 
It  is  the  dividing  sheet  or  strong  muscular  wall  suspended  across 
the  body  at  the  lower  end  of  the  chest,  separating  the  chest 
organs  above  from  the  abdominal  organs  below.  Above  this 
wall,  we  find  the  lungs  and  heart.  Below,  we  find  the  pancreas, 
spleen,  liver,  kidneys,  uterus,  bladder,  the  stomach,  and  bow- 
els, both  great  and  small.  We  find  the  aorta,  vena  cava,  and 
their  branches,  running  to  and  from  each  organ,  all  from  the 
one  artery.  Then  we  see  the  organs  drained  by  the  vena  cava 
and  its  tributaries.  You  see  that  the  supply  and  drainage  of 
all  the  organs  below  the  diaphragm  is  a  complete  system,  which 
shows  great  and  perfect  wisdom  in  the  plan  and  purpose  for 
which  it  was  formed  and  placed  in  position,  to  do  the  separate 
and  combined  work  of  the  abdominal  host.  When  all  do  a 
perfect  work,  nothing  but  health  can  be  shown  as  a  result.  No 
disease  can  possibly  come  to  any  of  these  organs  while  supply 
and  drainage  are  absolutely  perfect. 

EFFECTS  OF  WOUNDS. 

At  this  time  we  will  change  our  point  of  observation  and 
note  a  few  effects  of  wounds  inflicted  upon  any  organ  located 
in  the  abdomen.  A  congestion  following  changes  of  weather 
from  hot  to  cold,  dry  to  wet  or  damp,  is  a  wound.  The  severity 
of  the  shock  is  shown  by  its  effects  on  the  organs,  womb,  blad- 
der, and  others,  by  soreness  of  the  abdomen  or  tenderness,  a 
feeling  of  weight  in  the  pelvis  followed  sooner  or  later  by  blad- 
der trouble,  with  a  desire  to  pass  water  too  often,  followed 
by  itching  of  the  external  parts  of  the  vulva,  and  possibly 


THE  PELVIS.  199 

hemorrhage.  In  young  women,  stopped  flow,  followed  by 
monthly  flooding,  ulcers  of  the  womb,  polypi,  headache,  heart 
trouble,  fits,  insanity,  cancer  of  the  womb,  prolapsus,  and  the 
growth  of  tumors,  and  so  on  to  a  long  list  of  female  troubles, 
any  and  all  are  possibilities  from  an  injury  to  the  womb  that 
was  hurt  in-a  fall,  strain,  jar,  or  shock  produced  by  change  of 
clothing  or  by  atmospheric  variations. 

As  this  is  not  a  medical  school,  it  would  not  be  supposed 
that  we  would  follow  old-school  teachings  in  giving  relief.  When 
medical  schools  find  a  growth  or  ulcer,  they  hunt  for  knife  and 
caustic,  cut  and  burn.  You  see  at  once  that  the  theory  is  to 
combat  the  effect,  and  not  the  cause.  We  cure  these  diseases 
by  subduing  the  cause  that  has  produced  such  alarming  effects 
as  angry  ulcers,  cancers,  tumors,  and  all  diseases  that  assail 
woman.  We  must  apply  our  mental  and  physical  energies  to 
the  place  in  the  spine  controlling  the  blood-supply  sustaining 
the  life  and  health  of  the  womb,  the  bladder,  kidneys,  liver, 
spleen,  pancreas,  lymphatics,  and  all  parts  of  abdominal  life. 
Otherwise  we  are  at  sea,  with  no  compass  to  guide  us.  We 
leave  our  patients  in  the  clutches  of  the  beasts  of  prey,  to  be  cut 
and  slain  by  the  heads  and  hands  that  lack  knowledge  of  cause 
and  effect.  Medical  practitioners  chop  off  and  cut  out  tumors, 
burn  ulcers,  and  kill  by  the  rule  of  cut  and  try,  and  hope  for 
good  results  when  there  is  nothing  good  to  hope  for.  When  all 
kinks  are  straightened  out,  giving  the  strong  arm  of  Nature 
full  charge  of  the  work  of  righting  all  wrongs  and  establishing 
the  normal,  beyond  which  man  knows  nothing,  then  we  can 
reasonably  hope  for  recovery. 

TUMORS. 

Tumors  on  the  womb,  by  the  old  system,  have  been  sim- 
ply looked  upon  as  dead  weights  that  are  injurious  and  of  no  use 
to  the  woman,  and  the  sooner  such  growths  are  cut  off  or  burnt 


206          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  Otf  OSTEOPATHY. 

out,  the  better  for  the  woman.  No  doubt  many  growths,  when 
first  seen  by  the  surgeon,  have  gone  so  far  into  decay  that  to 
remove  is  wise,  and  we,  as  osteopaths  of  good  judgment,  would 
proceed  to  operate  and  do  the  best  we  could  to  prolong  life  by 
removing  any  dead  flesh  whose  fumes  of  decomposition  would 
cause  disease  by  their  poisonous  effects.  But  all  diseases  of 
the  organs  of  the  abdomen  should  have  the  wisest  methods  of 
osteopathy  exhausted  before  the  knife  is  invited  to  take  a  part 
in  the  effort  to  rescue  the  life  of  the  patient.  All  have  agreed 
long  since  that  tumors  and  issues  mark  a  cut-off  in  an  artery, 
vein,  or  nerve.  We  are  Americans,  and  have  no  time  or  pa- 
tience to  spend  with  theories  that  have  no  practical  sense  in 
them,  that  we  cannot  use  beneficially.  If  we  have  a  duty  to 
perform,  we  want  to  know  what  that  duty  is.  If  it  is  to  put 
the  organs  of  the  abdomen  in  position  and  form  to  act,  we  want 
to  know  it,  and  no  "howevers"  about  it. 

FROM  HEALTH  TO  DISEASE. 

I  wish  now  to  give  a  picture  of  a  healthy  woman  from 
childhood  to  womanhood,  full  of  blood  and  full  of  life,  quick 
in  motion,  active  in  mind,  able  to  answer  and  act  to  all  the 
functions  of  life.  You  must  know  what  a  healthy  woman  is 
before  you  can  think  and  act  wisely  with  the  woman  who  has 
lost  her  health,  say  of  her  sight,  hearing,  affecting  mind,  face, 
nose,  jaw,  mouth,  tongue,  throat,  stomach,  bowels,  liver,  kid- 
neys, womb,  bladder,  vagina,  heart,  lungs,  breasts,  and  all 
parts  of  a  perfect  woman.  It  is  a  perfect  woman  I  want  to 
present  to  your  mind.  The  first  thought  of  a  successful  osteo- 
path is  perfection,  and  he  must  place  in  mind  perfection  of 
form  and  function  of  the  woman  and  keep  that  picture  bright 
in  his  mind 's  eye  all  the  time,  or  he  will  be  a  failure  as  a  gynae- 
cologist all  his  days.  Now  let  us  begin  with  a  little  girl  of  five 
summers.  Generally  at  that  age  she  is  a  perfect  picture  of 


COI-U 

PELVIS.  201 

health,  perfect  in  form  and  action.  She  has  rosy  cheeks, 
sparkling  eyes,  and  silken  hair.  She  runs,  jumps,  climbs,  laughs, 
sings,  and  talks  from  morn  till  night,  sleeps,  eats,  and  is  a  per- 
fect little  machine  of  human  life  and  action.  Now  she  takes 
her  first  change  in  life  by  entering  the  poorly  ventilated  school- 
room. She  is  exposed  to  cold  and  contagions,  sits  on  benches 
from  two  to  six  hours  each  day,  drags  her  feet  through  mud, 
snow,  and  ice  from  six  to  nine  months  out  of  each  year.  She 
has  later  added  to  her  studies  the  changes  from  childhood  to 
womanhood.  Much  of  the  exercise  that  gave  her  brilliancy 
as  a  child  has  been  taken  from  her,  and  the  active  liberty  that 
kept  rosy  her  cheeks  and  gladdened  her  life  changes  to  inaction, 
that  weakens  her  whole  body  so  much  that  she  has  lost  the 
power  to  throw  off  a  cold  or  the  effect  of  changes  from  hot  to 
cold,  from  wet  to  dry,  and  so  on.  Blood  begins  to  circulate 
sluggishly  in  the  brain.  She  has  headache.  The  spine  tires 
and  she  stoops  forward,  causing  ribs  to  change  position,  closing 
intercostal  arteries  the  whole  length  of  the  chest,  and  she  has  a 
heart  under  a  great  strain  to  force  blood  through  the  small 
arteries  that  run  between  the  ribs  from  the  aorta.  Soon  we 
hear  of  her  as  having  heart  trouble.  With  that  organ  disabled, 
she  is  a  subject  for  other  failures,  such  as  lung  diseases,  spinal 
diseases,  with  all  the  resulting  bad  effects,  as  womb  disease, 
and  so  on  to  the  full  list  that  follows.  We  have  hastily  passed 
through  the  life  of  the  child  to  womanhood,  and  find  that  she 
has  changed  from  a  healthy  child  and  girl  full  of  life  and  vigor 
to  a  pitiable  condition,  sick  and  diseased  all  over.  When  we 
examined  her  as  a  child,  we  found  a  good  and  powerful  brain,  a 
healthy  spinal  cord,  and  all  nerves  full  of  life.  As  we  stopped 
to  view  the  throat,  larynx,  pharynx,  trachea,  and  oesophagus, 
we  found  them  perfectly  healthy.  A  perfect  glow  of  life  was 
absolutely  manifest.  We  are  so  well  pleased  with  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  form  and  workings  of  the  parts  of  the  machinery  of 


1/<,  D0 

202         PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

a  healthy  girl  that  we  conclude  to  stay  in  her  body  as  an 
explorer.  We  will  camp  near  the  heart  and  lungs,  to  us  two  of 
the  greatest  wonders  of  the  works  of  that  unerring  architect, 
God.  I  want  to  emphasize  God,  and  give  to  Him  the  intelli- 
gence of  a  God,  a  God  to  be  respected  and  followed  to  the  let- 
ter by  the  doctors  of  my  school.  I  am  talking  to  the  few  or 
many  who  are  not  to  be  pitied  for  lack  of  brains  to  behold  and 
comprehend  perfection  in  the  unabused  machinery  of  life,  let 
that  abuse  come  from  any  causes  whatsoever. 

GYNAECOLOGY. 

For  fear  the  student  will  think  I  have  forgotten  my  sub- 
ject, the  heart  and  lungs,  I  will  ask  him  to  refresh  his  mind  on 
those  organs  of  life  by  a  mental  review  of  what  he  has  been 
carefully  and  extensively  taught  of  those  organs  in  descript- 
ive and  demonstrative  anatomy.  Your  grade-cards  report 
that  you  have  passed  above  90  in  both  branches  of  anatomy, 
also  in  chemistry,  urinalysis,  histology,  physiology,  and  the 
principles  and  practice  of  osteopathy.  Honor  bright,  do  you 
think  you  merit  the  high  scale  that  appears  upon  all  your 
cards?  If  you  do,  and  have  done  your  duty,  you  are  ready  to 
hear  me  upon  one  of  the  most  important  branches  taught  hi 
the  American  School  of  Osteopathy — Gynaecology.  Your  stud- 
ies thus  far  have  taught  you  that  the  throat,  heart,  and  lungs, 
with  all  their  attachments  with  parts  of  the  machinery  of  life, 
are  and  have  been  dependent  on  the  brain  for  power,  and  on 
the  spinal  cord  for  nerve-distribution.  I  will  invite  you  to  go 
with  me  from  the  chest  down  through  the  diaphragm  to  this 
young  lady 's  common  organs  of  life  and  procreation.  Let  me 
ask  you  to  kindly  refresh  your  mind  upon  the  blood-  and  nerve- 
supply  of  the  diaphragm,  that  great,  vital,  active,  and  most 
important  wall  of  separation,  situated  between  the  bony  chest 
and  fleshy  abdomen.  I  say,  "  refresh  your  minds  upon  the  blood- 


THE    PELVIS.  203 

and  nerve-supply  of  the  diaphragm,"  because  of  its  uses  and 
very  important  functional  action  upon  the  heart,  lungs,  and 
all  organs  above  and  below  the  separating  line  which  it  marks. 
It,  too,  with  all  the  organs  above,  must  be  healthy  in  form  and 
action ;  therefore  all  blood-  and  nerve-supply  must  be  absolute. 
If  upon  this  examination  we  find  the  diaphragm  worthy  and 
well  qualified  to  do  the  duties  incumbent  upon  it,  we  will  pass 
on  and  again  pitch  our  tents,  establishing  ourselves  upon  the 
highest  pinnacle  of  mental  observation  possible,  a  philosopher's 
constant  ami  when  beginning  his  observations  of  the  harmo- 
nies of  Nature  in  all  its  works.  After  thoroughly  acquaint- 
ing ourselves  with  the  perfect  works  of  Nature,  we  begin  to 
fortify  our  reason  by  disturbing  some  part  or  many  parts  of 
the  machine  which  has  been  doing  perfect  work.  We  will 
bend  a  shaft,  slip  a  pulley,  break  a  cog,  slack  a  belt,  throw  dirt, 
sand,  ashes,  alkali,  or  any  disturbing  substance  upon  the  jour- 
nals, in  the  boxes,  or  any  place  that  will  produce  a  known 
variation  from  perfect  normality  of  the  machine.  We  set  it  to 
work  again,  and  then  compare  the  difference  between  the  nor- 
mal and  abnormal.  Thus  his  philosophy  has  given  him  an 
answer  for  both  the  normal  and  the  abnormal,  without  which 
truth  no  philosopher  can  afford  to  commit  philosophical  sui- 
cide. Since  we  have  seen  the  harmony  that  prevails  below 
the  diaphragm,  we  cannot  do  justice  to  the  student  and  fail  to 
examine  the  functions  of  those  organs.  We  ask  you  at  least 
to  mentally  run  over  the  organs  from  your  knowledge  of  anat- 
omy. Now  make  yourself  a  child  of  inquiry  and  a  student  of 
Nature.  Turn  your  eyes  upon  the  pancreas,  which  lies  just 
below  the  diaphragm,  and  rehearse  mentally  or  aloud  its  blood- 
supply  and  its  nerve-supply.  Ask  such  questions  as  these :  Why 
has  all  this  deposit  of  fat  been  placed  at  so  important  a  center? 
Is  it  possible  that  an  oily  compound  is  prepared  in  this  little 
laboratory  of  animal  chemistry  and  conducted  to  the  liver  to 


2O4  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

be  mixed  with  chalk  and  other  substances  to  prevent  association 
of  such  substances  to  the  dangerous  degree  of  gall-stones?  If 
so,  a  great  duty  falls  upon  us,  to  see  to  it  that  no  disturbing 
causes  appear  that  would  damagingly  affect  the  functioning  of 
the  pancreas.  My  eyes  seem  to  settle  next  upon  the  liver, 
which  is  pointed  out  by  my  anatomical  and  physiological  com- 
pass. Do  you  agree  with  me,  or  have  you  discovered  greater 
truths  by  longer  and  deeper  observation  of  the  chemical  labo- 
ratory beneath  the  diaphragm?  Can  we  then  afford  to  spend 
a  few  days  and  train  our  telescopes  and  microscopes  of  highest 
human  skill  upon  the  spleen,  to  observe  the  effect  that  would 
follow  a  crippling  of  the  functions  of  that  organ?  Have  we  a 
functional  derangement  from  nerve-disturbance  that  would 
cause  the  lymphatics  to  reverse  their  action  of  construction 
and  throw  albumin,  fibrin,  and  watery  fluids  into  the  excre- 
tory ducts  and  destroy  life  by  an  exhausting  drainage?  Then 
we  would  be  face  to  face  with  dyspepsia,  dropsy,  enlarged  spleen, 
engorged  liver,  cancer,  gall-stones,  skin  eruptions,  change  of 
color,  constipation,  inflammatory  diseases,  and  ulceration  of 
the  stomach,  bowels,  kidneys,  and  the  uterus.  If  we  have 
observed  the  perfect,  harmonious  work  of  health,  we  are  now 
prepared  to  adjust  the  machinery  of  life  by  taking  all  embar- 
rassments from  blood-  and  nerve-supply  that  are  caused  or 
could  be  caused  by  strains,  jars,  and  nervous  shocks  or  wounds 
that  are  produced  by  change  of  season,  climate,  and  physical 
injuries  of  all  kinds,  be  they  great  or  small.  Your  work  is 
completed  when  you  have  adjusted  the  human  body  to  the 
degree  of  perfection  in  which  the  God  of  Nature  left  it.  This  is 
the  limit  of  your  usefulness ;  do  your  work  well  and  you  will  get 
the  results  sought.  Never  grow  weary  in  well-doing;  we  have 
proven  that  God  is  true.  Drug  systems  have  long  since  fallen 
in  the  minds  of  both  men  and  women  who  have  tested  all  the 
claims  set  forth  and  practiced  by  the  medical  schools  of  the 


THE    PELVIS.  205 

world.     If  you  have  the  ability  to  reason,  you  will  be  satisfied 
with  the  claims  of  osteopathy. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  A  HEALTHY  WOMB. 
The  womb  as  a  healthy  organ  would  be  classed  as  one  of 
the  most  healthy  organs  of  woman's  system,  because  of  the 
fact  that  there  is  perfect  rest  in  its  life  from  the  time  of  baby- 
hood until  about  the  age  of  fourteen.  Previous  to  that  no  action 
or  growth  in  size  or  function  is  taking  place,  farther  than  the 
organ  is  kept  in  existence  by  a  system  of  small  arteries  and 
nerves,  microscopic  in  size  until  womanhood  sets  in.  At  the  age 
of  about  twelve  or  fourteen  years  activity  for  maternal  function- 
ing begins  to  develop  its  size,  with  all  the  glands  and  append- 
ages necessary  for  maternal  uses.  All  the  time  previous  to 
this  period  in  her  life,  no  growth  has  seemed  to  be  necessary 
and  no  change  in  quality  or  quantity  of  blood  has  had  an 
opportunity  to  cause  disease.  Thus  no  great  changes  could 
occur  while  neither  the  blood-  nor  nerve-supply  was  changing 
in  quantity,  motion,  or  quality.  I  have  given  a  history  of  the 
womb  in  girl-life  when  it  was  in  the  best  of  health,  in  order 
to  get  a  foundation  from  which  to  reason  when  we  consider 
the  womb  in  its  many  conditions  of  disease,  as  in  abnormal 
discharges,  ulcers,  tumors,  variations  from  its  normal  place 
in  health,  cancers,  wounds  caused  in  childbirth  by  forceps, 
retained  monthlies,  prolapse,  sterility,  menopause,  inversion, 
procidentia,  etc. 

DISEASES  PECULIAR  TO  WOMAN. 

What  diseases  does  woman  have  that  man  does  not  have? 
Such  diseases  as  belong  to  the  womb  and  its  appendages.  Be- 
ginning with  menses  and  on  to  pregnancy,  delivery,  care  dur- 
ing and  after  labor,  then  variations  in  the  position  ef  the  womb 
from  normal,  I  wish  to  present  her  in  both  the  healthy  and  the 
unhealthy  condition.  The  osteopath,  by  his  knowledge  of 


206  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  Otf  OSTEOPATHY. 

her  anatomical  form  and  physiological  functioning,  can  easily 
understand  how  and  why  she  has  changed  from  a  healthy  girl 
to  a  diseased  woman.  He  can  see  how  she  becomes  the  mother 
of  cancers,  tumors,  and  deadly  ulcers  that  spill  her  life-blood 
and  cause  her  frame  to  yield  in  death.  We  must  prepare  our- 
selves for  a  very  hard  fight  in  her  defense,  or  we  will  "  lose  out" 
and  prove  our  inability  to  successfully  combat  the  enemy.  We 
must  begin  at  her  bones  and  know  them,  their  uses  and  their 
places ;  then  the  binding  ligaments  of  all  the  bones,  and  in  par- 
ticular her  spine  and  pelvis.  We  must  know  them  when  nor- 
mal, and  qualify  our  hands,  eyes,  and  reason  to  know  when 
and  how  to  detect  any  slip  of  bone  or  muscle  or  ligament.  We 
must  reason  and  search  until  we  know  what  effect  would  be 
produced  on  any  organ  of  the  chest  or  abdomen  by  an  anterior, 
posterior,  or  lateral  change  of  the  atlas,  axis,  or  other  bones  of 
the  neck;  what  effect  on  the  heart  would  follow  the  changed 
position  of  a  rib  or  vertebra  from  the  first  to  the  twelfth  dor- 
sal, the  lumbar,  sacrum,  and  innominates,  because  of  a  slip  or 
change  from  the  normal.  Would  it  send  more  or  less  blood  to  the 
brain?  The  force  would  vary  in  proportion  and  allow  the  lungs 
to  suffer  loss  of  power  in  purifying  the  blood,  and  then  a  failure 
in  the  power  of  the  heart  would  appear,  and  it  would  not  be 
able  to  perform  its  functions ;  then  a  stagnation  of  blood  would 
appear  in  the  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  As 
a  result,  we  would  have  disease  from  congestion  and  sluggish 
action  in  the  organs  upon  which  a  healthy  womb  has  to 
depend  for  its  vitality  and  functioning  in  its  part  of  the  labo- 
ratory of  animal  life.  To  be  diseased,  then,  would  be  a  natural 
consequence.  Since  we  have  a  weak  heart  to  propel  the  blood, 
a  weak  set  of  lungs  to  purify  the  blood,  and  the  liver,  spleen, 
kidneys,  and  lymphatics  filled  with  fluids  other  than  healthy, 
and  slow  in  action  from  a  feeble  heart,  we  can  expect  a  process 
of  active  fermentation  to  set  up  and  create  from  perverted 


THE  PEWTS.  207 

fluids  exciting  substances  that  will  annoy  the  nerves  to  abnor- 
mal activities,  causing  fits,  hysteria,  insanity,  growths,  tumors, 
sloughing  and  bleeding  surfaces  or  ulcers  of  various  cancerous 
natures  that  whip  up  all  the  nervous  forces  of  the  heart  to 
drive  the  blood  to  repair  the  ulcerations ;  but  when  that  blood 
arrives,  it  is  poured  out  into  space,  because  the  blood -terminals 
are  sloughed  off.  Cancers  of  the  womb  and  bladder  are  found 
in  their  most  malignant  forms  from  causes  above  noted.  The 
next  thing  to  do  is  to  set  out  to  find  the  causes  that  produced 
those  conditions.  It  matters  not  whether  the  cause  is  far 
remote  or  in  close  proximity  to  the  uterus ;  we  must  find  it,  or 
we  will  be  found  in  the  antediluvian  tribe  of  speculum  cranks 
of  all  the  blind  female  doctors'  ages.  We  must  stand  true  to 
the  light  and  reason  of  anatomy  or  join  the  mourners  who  wail 
because  their  tricks  are  not  now  nor  ever  have  been  trumps 
when  battling  for  a  woman's  health  under  the  old  tree  that 
has  nothing  but  woodpeckers'  holes  in  its  trunk  and  limbs. 

NATURE  OUR  SCHOOL. 

To-day  is  our  day,  Nature  is  our  school,  and  we  must  go 
by  the  pointings  of  the  compass.  We  can  never  improve  old 
theories  to  the  degree  of  truths.  They  are  not  based  upon 
facts.  When  we  turn  our  eyes  and  look  back  for  truths,  back 
from  Nature,  we  only  behold  the  dark  clouds  of  dying  theories, 
without  a  single  friend  to  mourn  their  loss.  In  osteopathy  we 
have  the  tree  of  life,  and  the  living  man  in  it.  Our  science  sees 
him,  our  science  has  proven  him  to  be  a  living  man,  proven  him 
to  be  the  work  of  a  living  God,  a  wise  God,  whose  works  are 
alive  and  show  wisdom  in  form  and  purposes.  We  must  learn 
that  Nature  means  wisdom,  means  mental  ability,  means  busi- 
ness honesty,  and  we  must  not  disobey  its  teachings.  Nature 
never  made  a  philosopher.  He  made  the  man  to  learn  and  act. 
Man  can  make  of  himself  a  philosopher  or  fool.  The  schools 


208  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

of  Nature  are  all  open  and  free  to  him.  He  can  learn  the  les- 
sons and  become  wise  if  he  obeys  the  teachers;  otherwise  he 
learns  little  and  his  knowledge  is  of  little  use  all  his  days.  He 
has  missed  his  opportunities;  he  is  mentally  unprepared  for 
duties  as  a  leader  and  as  a  teacher ;  he  is  only  a  slave  to  a  the- 
oretical life.  In  him  there  is  nothing  that  is  really  useful,  more 
than  perhaps  an  ability  to  operate  a  bucksaw,  and  not  even 
good  at  that,  because  there  is  more  practice  in  that  operation 
than  theory.  He  fails  for  want  of  theories. 

ANATOMICAL  DIFFERENCES. 

In  this  talk  on  the  diseases  of  woman,  I  think  about  the 
best  method  would  be  to  state  or  line  up  the  diseases  with  which 
she  is  most  liable  to  be  afflicted.  In  general  forms,  the  woman 
is  just  the  same  as  man.  They  both  have  brains,  spine,  and 
limbs,  the  same  in  form,  location,  and  use.  Both  have  heart, 
lungs,  diaphragm,  pancreas,  liver,  spleen,  stomach,  bowels,  and 
kidneys.  They  are  both  the  same,  so  far,  anatomically.  At 
this  point  the  explorer  begins  to  notice  a  difference  in  the  form 
of  muscles,  nerve-supply,  shape,  and  the  functions  of  the  gen- 
erative organs.  At  this  time  a  mental  halt  is  called.  The 
mind  finds  that  a  new  book  opens  to  its  view,  and  the  student 
begins  to  ponder  and  question  for  light.  What  design  could 
Nature  have  had  in  so  wide  a  difference  in  the  form  and  func- 
tions of  these  organs?  He  answers  that  question  as  best  he 
may.  With  rapidity  of  thought  and  reason  he  then  argues 
that  as  they  differ  in  form  and  function,  they  will  show  the 
effect  of  diseases  in  a  different  manner  from  the  organs  com- 
mon to  both  sexes,  such  as  brain,  heart,  and  lungs.  The  reader 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that  woman  would  be  affected  just 
the  same  as  man  in  all  parts  except  in  the  generative  system, 
which  is  different  from  the  man's.  In  man  we  find  more  kid- 
ney diseases  and  inflammations  of  different  kinds,  the  effects 


THE    PEXVIS.  209 

of  strains,  lifts,  falls,  overwork,  heat,  cold,  fevers  of  climate 
and  change  of  season.  But  we  cannot  reason  that  disease  will 
show  the  same  effect  on  the  general  system  of  woman  that  is 
shown  in  the  man,  when  both  are  not  alike  in  form  and  parts. 
Undoubtedly  reason  has  claimed  our  attention  and  forced  us 
to  see  and  conclude  that  we  must  look  for  that  which  her  make- 
up points  us  to  when  she  is  sick.  We  know  that  disease  is  an 
effect  of  some  action  that  is  abnormally  producing  it,  and  when 
the  normal  chain  is  broken,  we  know  that  the  brain  obeys  the 
law  of  stimulants  and  narcotics.  With  no  intention  or  expec- 
tation to  make  an  apology  for  the  cause  I  have  undertaken  to 
champion,  I  raise  my  flag  in  open  view  before  the  world  with 
the  inscription  in  the  blackest  letters,  "  No  Quarter!"  for  any 
theory  or  practice  that  has  no  respect  for  a  woman 's  modesty, 
no  feeling  whether  she  suffers  much  or  little,  is  maimed  for  life, 
lives  or  dies,  so  she  can  be  inveigled  into  a  hospital  to  receive 
the  torture  of  experimentation  and  death,  or  accidental  recov- 
ery, by  the  hands  of  stupidity  that  are  flourished  by  the  pres- 
ent day  gynaecologist,  all  for  the  amount  of  money  that  can  be 
extorted  from  husband,  father,  or  friends.  I  do  object  most 
emphatically  to  the  every-day  evidences  of  the  bad  teachings 
of  the  present-day  medical  institutions.  Our  school  wants  none 
of  it.  Our  school  has  no  use  for  its  teachings.  There  is  no 
osteopathy  in  it,  and  less  truth.  In  behalf  of  the  tortured,  both 
living  and  dead,  whose  lives  have  been  sacrificed  boldly  on  the 
altar  of  the  present-day  teachings  in  gynaecology,  on  behalf  of 
all  womankind,  I  have  raised  the  black  flag  of  eternal  ven- 
geance upon  the  brutal  system  of  obstetrics  and  the  treatment 
of  woman's  afflictions,  from  the  school-girl  up  to  the  oldest 
mothers  and  grandmothers.  We  want  none  of  it  taught,  none 
of  it  practiced  in  this  school.  This  school  was  not  created  for 
a  slaughter-house,  neither  will  it  be  tolerated  as  such  by  the 
scrutinizing  eyes  of  the  board  of  trustees.  The  suggestions  of 


210  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

anatomy  and  physiology  must  be  learned,  must  be  taught,  and 
must  be  practiced;  then  peace  and  harmony  will  prevail.  My 
mother  shall  not  be  slaughtered;  my  wife  shall  not  be  butch- 
ered, nor  my  daughter  stripped  and  exposed 

OUR  INSTRUMENTS. 

An  osteopath  who  knows  his  business  has  no  use  for  a  spec- 
ulum, no  use  for  a  steel  spindle  or  sound  in  the  treatment  of 
female  diseases.  Once  in  a  thousand  tunes  the  accoucheur's 
forceps  may  be  admitted  in  case  of  pelvic  deformity.  Explo- 
rations and  treatments  by  the  osteopath  who  is  worthy  of  the 
title  D.O.  should  deliver  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  chil- 
dren out  of  one  thousand  with  no  instrument  but  his  hands; 
otherwise  he  is  not  fit  to  be  trusted  with  birth  of  child  and  care 
of  mother  and  offspring.  It  is  not  only  a  request  and  demand, 
but  an  order  to  be  remembered,  that  osteopathy  as  a  science 
is  wholly  independent  of  all  other  theories.  Our  works  must 
show  improvement  or  stop.  Osteopathic  truths  can  be  taught, 
demonstrated,  and  practiced  successfully  and  satisfactorily, 
and  explained  in  words  of  the  American  language.  Don 't  look 
for  others.  Remember  that  at  the  end  of  four  hundred  years 
we  have  had  selected  and  compiled  in  our  dictionaries  upwards 
of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  choice  words  for  our 
use.  We  contend  that  they  have  a  place  in  our  finest  litera- 
ture, equal  to  the  best  in  the  world.  We  can  give  the  very  best 
instruction  with  their  use,  and  it  is  the  object  of  our  school  to 
teach  and  practice  the  skilled  arts  of  all  branches  with  and 
through  the  words  of  our  own  language.  We  are  not  here  to 
make  a  show  of  scholarship  with  words  taken  from  the  tongues 
of  the  antediluvian  world.  We  are  here  to  call  a  horse  a  horse, 
to  demonstrate  what  we  assert,  and  leave  the  results  to  be 
accepted  or  rejected  by  men  and  women  who  can  and  will  think 
in  the  words  of  our  own  blessed  language.  An  American  should 
be  proud  of  his  country  for  having  selected  and  compiled  from 


THE    PELVIS.  211 

the  tongues  of  the  world  a  sufficiency  of  words  and  phrases  not 
equalled  by  any  other  tongue  spoken  now  or  in  the  days  of  the 
past.  Cut  out  your  Greek  and  Latin.  "  Talk  United  States." 

THE  MACHINE  GIVES  OUT. 

Does  the  woman  get  sick?  Yes.  Why  and  how  does  she 
get  sick?  Because  she  is  a  machine  made  for  life's  purposes, 
and  that  machinery  gives  out  by  wear  and  abusive  care,  or  lack 
of  knowing  how  to  care  for  it.  What  parts  are  the  most  liable 
to  get  out  of  good  operative  conditions?  One  part  is  no  more 
liable  to  get  out  of  working  order  than  any  other.  Is  the  womb 
more  liable  to  become  disabled  than  other  parts?  No;  because 
it  was  made  to  do  its  work  and  no  more.  It  has,  occasionally, 
long-time  jobs  to  do,  which  it  must  stay  with  and  superintend 
for  nine  or  ten  months.  Other  organs  have  to  feed  the  womb 
to  order  and  on  time  while  in  this  service  or  contract  job.  It 
is  like  a  vessel  of  the  sea  after  returning  from  a  long  voyage ;  it 
has  to  report  a  very  rough  trip  from  start  to  return.  When 
the  ship  goes  in  for  inspection  and  repairs,  she  is  dry-docked 
or  raised  out  of  the  water,  so  that  the  master  ship-builder  can 
see  her,  learn  how  storms  affected  her  hull,  engine,  boiler,  and 
through  a  complete  course  of  inspection,  ocular,  historical,  and 
otherwise.  He  hands  in  his  report:  "She  is  not  seaworthy. 
I  find  that  all  parts  have  suffered  strains  about  equally,  and  it 
is  a  wonder  that  she  has  made  the  last  trip  when  all  parts  have 
suffered  almost  to  collapse.  I  have  to  report  as  inspector  that 
a  complete  overhauling,  leveling  and  plumbing,  and  rest  for 
the  crew  is  necessary,  or  another  such  voyage  will  mark  a  lost 
vessel." 

EXAMINATION. 

I  have  tried  to  tell  the  student  that  to  do  justice  to  gynae- 
cological service,  he  must  be  a  workhand  in  the  navy-yard  of 
life,  and  must  examine  the  whole  vessel  when  she  comes  to  the 


212  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

dock  for  repairs.  It  is  not  necessary  to  look  at  the  bottom  of 
the  ship  all  the  time.  Look  at  all  parts  with  equal  energy. 
Go  over  the  hull  and  see  if  holes  or  cracks  let  water  come  into 
the  hull.  Don't  do  anything  to  her  till  the  doctor  says,  ' '  Endos- 
mosis."  Go  to  the  boiler,  and  if  you  find  a  leakage  of  steam, 
lay  down  your  hammer  and  rivets  until  the  master  mechanic 
says,  "This  is  a  bad  case  of  exosmosis."  Then  be  careful  to 
wait  until  the  chief  boss  says,  "  Osmosis."  Then  go  to  work, 
for  osmosis  or  action  is  what  is  needed  on  the  ship.  You  need 
Greek  words,  a  Yankee  hammer,  a  Dutch  pipe,  and  sense  enough 
to  know  that  vessels  get  strained  all  over  and  all  parts  need 
careful  attention,  before  you  go  to  work  to  put  all  in  good  sea- 
worthy shape,  previous  to  her  discharge  out  of  dry-dock  for 
another  voyage.  All  combinations  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
motion  to  this  vessel  must  first  be  known,  with  instructions  of 
how  much  repair  is  needed,  before  the  subordinate  workman 
is  supposed  to  proceed  with  the  work  of  repairs.  After  this 
wise  precaution,  the  skilled  workman  has  no  difficulty  in  know- 
ing and  doing  the  duties  incumbent  upon  him.  As  no  two 
vessels  are  likely  to  show  the  same  effect  from  injuries  received 
in  storms,  the  important  answer  appears  that  no  book  of 
instructions  can  be  writen  by  the  wisest  mechanic  so  perfectly 
as  to  reach  the  condition  of  any  vessel  that  comes  into  the  dock 
for  inspection  and  repairs.  One  vessel  may  bump  its  bow 
against  a  large  cake  of  ice,  a  stone,  or  another  vessel,  strain- 
ing every  bolt  and  the  whole  vessel  from  top  to  bottom,  length 
and  width,  receiving  a  universal  shock  or  strain.  Another 
vessel  may  strike  a  reef  in  a  quartering  position  or  any  other 
angle  of  contact.  The  result  could  not  be  expected  to  be  the 
same.  If  a  boiler  should  blow  out,  a  man-head  or  a  steam-chest 
explode,  the  result  would  be  expected  to  t>e  different  from  other 
causes.  Thus  we  behold  effects,  proceed  to  hunt  the  cause, 
and  repair  according  to  the  demands  indicated  by  the  discov- 
ery of  the  cause  that  has  produced  the  abnormality. 


THE   PELVIS.  213 

I  suppose  we  have  no  student  who  is  worthy  of  a  seat  in 
the  third  or  fourth  term  who  is  so  stupid  as  not  to  be  able  to 
take  up  the  woman  and  examine  the  surface  of  the  body  as  an 
inspector  would  examine  the  spine  or  main  beam  of  the  vessel. 
He  would  see  if  that  beam  was  stove  up  at  either  end  from  a 
shock  or  fall  sufficient  to  slip  any  member  of  the  spinal  column 
from  its  true  position,  producing  a  bend  or  variation  that  would 
cause  a  suspension  of  healthy  nerve-  or  blood-supply  where 
force  or  nourishment  were  required  to  sustain  the  vital  energy 
of  organs  of  life,  of  muscle  and  motion.  As  a  woman  is  the  ves- 
sel that  has  come  into  port  and  gone  into  dry-dock  for  repairs, 
it  is  supposed  that  before  we  will  commence  any  repairing  we 
will  carefully  explore  her  spine,  brain,  lungs,  heart,  liver,  and 
kidneys,  omitting  no  part,  and  know  that  there  is  not  complete 
harmony  of  action  of  all  organs  before  we  treat  in  a  local  way 
a  prolapsed  or  diseased  womb.  It  would  be  very  unphilosoph- 
ical  to  begin  at  the  womb  with  our  treatment  and  hope  for 
good  results,  when  the  cause  for  its  disability  was  at  another 
point  or  place  of  nerve-  and  blood-supply.  Right  here  I  want 
to  keep  before  you  the  arteries  that  nourish  and  supply  the 
womb,  and  the  nerves  of  sensation,  motion,  and  nutrition  of 
the  organ,  and  the  veins  that  convey  the  blood  back  to  the 
heart.  A  short  review  of  anatomy  and  physiology  will  refresh 
your  minds  on  the  important  lessons  on  nerve-  and  blood- 
supply  of  the  uterus  and  its  appendages.  As  time  is  important 
to  me  and  to  you  also,  I  will  omit  this  minutiae.  With  a  clear 
comprehension  of  anatomy  and  physiology,  abnormal  growths 
with  their  causes  are  easily  comprehended.  Bloody  and  other 
wastings,  with  their  causes,  can  easily  be  known  and  success- 
fully relieved. 

THE  NORMAL  AND  ABNORMAL. 

When  we  take  up  the  diseases  of  woman  as  a  subject  of 
thought,  we  must  confine  them  to  her  form,  and  that  form  in  its 


214  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

most  perfect  condition.  Then  mentally  we  see  a  brain  of  perfect 
action  in  all  its  performances.  We  see  a  spinal  cord  with  its 
army  of  life,  all  in  motion,  obeying  all  orders  of  a  wonderful 
government,  with  every  officer  at  the  head  of  his  division, 
repeating  orders  and  having  all  work  done  to  the  finest  rules  of 
perfection.  We  must  view  her  as  perfection  in  all  her  form, 
her  limbs  all  perfect  for  motion  and  their  destined  uses.  Then 
take  a  stand  for  a  bird's-eye  view  of  all  parts  of  her  body.  See 
that  the  liver,  spleen,  kidneys,  and  all  internal  organs  are  nor- 
mal in  size  and  place.  Go  to  the  bones  of  the  spine  and  ribs, 
see  them  and  behold  all  as  truly  perfect.  Then  take  a  physio- 
logical view  and  see  the  functioning  of  perfect  life  in  the  labo- 
ratory of  a  perfect  woman.  We  will  take  up  the  subject  of  her 
abnormal  condition  with  the  view  of  discussing  the  causes  that 
have  produced  the  changed  condition  of  brain,  lungs,  heart, 
liver,  spleen,  kidneys,  pancreas,  bowels,  stomach,  uterus,  or 
nervous  system.  If  her  brain,  heart,  lungs,  and  all  her  organs 
have  once  been  perfectly  healthy  and  normal  in  all  their  func- 
tionings,  why  have  they  failed,  one  at  a  time,  in  so  many  places, 
that  the  body  as  a  whole  becomes  a  perfect  wreck?  Her  brain 
was  once  perfectly  healthy,  ready  to  execute  all  duties  that 
Nature  required  of  it.  The  same  was  true  of  the  lungs  and  all 
the  other  organs.  Why  has  this  great  change  given  her  abnor- 
mality in  place  of  the  harmony  she  at  one  time  possessed?  On 
examination,  a  slight  disturbance  is  found  in  the  lung,  a  tick- 
ling cough  sets  in  and  is  continued  with  some  gain  in  severity 
as  months  go  on.  There  is  a  little  quivering  of  the  heart,  and 
occasionally  a  lost  beat  in  the  pulse.  Soon  another  disturb- 
ance appears;  pain  in  the  region  of  the  liver,  also  on  the  left 
side  in  the  region  of  the  spleen.  Then  another  break  appears. 
An  irregularity  of  the  appetite  is  complained  of,  her  stomach 
generates  and  throws  off  gas,  and  she  looks  pale  and  grows 
weakly.  Finally  she  has  added  to  these  troubles  misery  and 


THE   PELVIS.  215 

cutting  pains  in  the  region  of  the  kidneys.  After  a  few  weeks 
or  months  in  this  condition,  she  reports  that  her  monthlies  are 
not  acting  on  regulaar  time;  that  she  suffers  a  great  amount 
of  pain  in  the  lower  abdomen,  with  blood  flowing  until  she  can 
scarcely  walk.  She  consults  a  medical  doctor,  and  he  very 
wisely  tells  her  that  she  has  a  bad  case  of  ovaritis;  that  the 
leukocytes  of  the  epithelial  tissue  of  the  vulva  must  be  exam- 
ined per  vaginam  with  a  speculum  at  once,  and  that  he  must  be 
quick  about  it.  She  is  turned  up^n  the  Sims  position,  then 
on  genupectoral  position  of  exposure,  and  is  told  she  must 
undergo  an  operation.  She  is  sent  off  to  some  doctor  who 
treats,  cures,  and  kills,  all  for  the  dollars  there  are  in  it.  The 
doctor  who  sends  her  in  for  the  operation  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten  gets  one-half  of  the  five  hundred  dollars.  Then  the  min- 
ister gets  ten  dollars  as  her  "  sky  pilot."  It  is  not  necessary 
to  tell  you  this  is  true.  You  know  that  it  is  true.  We  want 
no  such  sins  placed  to  our  credit  when  Gabriel  calls  for  our 
books. 

TREATMENT. 

The  student  asks  the  question,  "  How  would  you  treat 
womb  troubles?"  The  osteopath  of  skill  can  easily  give  the 
answer;  he  is  trained  to  treat  such  troubles.  The  first  step  is 
to  open  the  back  door  and  throw  out  your  speculum,  probes, 
pessaries,  syringes,  dopes,  and  medicated  cotton.  Then  begin 
at  the  nerves  that  caused  her  the  first  little  hacking  cough,  and 
stay  with  an  exploring  eye  and  hand  placed  on  the  neck  and 
upper  dorsal  until  the  cut-off  is  found  that  stopped  the  normal 
blood-  and  nerve-supply  and  caused  constricture  of  the  respir- 
atory pipe  from  her  mouth  to  her  lungs.  Make  them  take 
their  places.  Then  you  are  ready  to  drop  the  lungs  and  look 
for  the  nerve-  and  blood-supply  of  the  heart.  Now  you  are 
ready  to  give  her  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  kidneys,  and  lym- 
phatics a  visit,  as  an  Lexplorer  who  has  use  for  the  most 


2l6  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

exacting  and  most  thorough  study  of  the  true  physiological 
perfection  of  the  functions  of  the  organs  named.  He  has  no 
business  with  her  womb  until  he  has  stopped  and  booked 
practical  knowledge  at  all  points  torn  down  by  the  disease  that 
began  at  the  lungs  and  prepared  the  womb  to  fail  to  perform 
its  normal  functions.  I  have  just  supposed  a  case,  beginning 
at  the  lungs  with  only  a  slight  cough,  and  followed  its  progres- 
sive effects  from  a  simple  cold  through  all  the  organs  of  the 
body,  and  found  them  giving  way,  one  at  a  time,  in  quick  or 
slow  succession,  until  all  were  wounded  or  diseased,  before  the 
womb  succumbed  and  became  alarmingly  diseased.  I  have 
tried  to  show  you  that  the  womb  disease  was  only  an  effect, 
and  the  cause  of  its  weakness  was  due  to  organs  that  it 
depended  upon  for  health  and  strength.  They  had  lost  their 
power  to  keep  the  womb  well  nourished;  the  womb  itself  was 
not  at  fault  in  the  cause  of  the  disease.  We  have  given  you  a 
case  of  womb  disease,  a  dangerous  ulceration  of  mucous  mem- 
brane, to  show  the  students  how  to  hunt  and  find  the  begin- 
ning or  remote  causes  that  the  doctor  should  always  have  in 
mind  when  he  takes  a  case  for  treatment.  Ever  remember 
that  ulcers,  tumors,  leucorrhoea,  hemorrhages,  and  delayed  or 
retained  monthlies  are  all  the  results  of  preceding  causes,  that 
affect  the  womb  by  contracting  its  outlet  by  a  constant  irri- 
tation of  the  circular  nerves  of  the  os.  This  irritation  may  be 
caused  in  bony  alteration  in  the  spine  between  the  eighth  dor- 
sal vertebra  and  the  coccyx.  Defects  of  the  spine  and  sacrum 
in  their  articulations  have  caused  strictures  of  the  mouth  of 
the  womb.  An  M.D.  will  tell  her  to  get  on  his  table,  give  her 
Sims '  or  some  other  pet  position,  and  then,  after  exploring  her 
person,  insert  a  speculum  and  push  into  the  womb  a  pair  of 
dilating  tongs,  tearing  the  womb  open.  We  have  no  use  for 
such  indecent  exposure  or  the  stupid  operator.  We  correct 
articulations  in  the  spine,  bones  of  the  pelvis,  and  organs  of  the 


THE    PELVIS.  217 

abdomen,  and  take  away  by  that  method  all  irritation  from 
the  constrictor  nerves  and  the  vaso-dilators  We  have  no  need 
for  tongs  to  let  monthly  fluids  flow  easily  from  the  womb.  You 
must  drop  the  tool  idea.  It  is  the  breech-clout  of  the  obsolete 
past,  and  is  only  kept  up  by  ignorance  of  what  a  woman  is. 

WHITES,  LEUCORRHCEA. 

A  few  sensible  Americanized  questions  and  answers,  such 
as:  What  is  the  disease  you  call  leucorrhoea  or  whites?  Why 
do  you  call  it  leucorrhoea?  Does  leuco  mean  something  that 
is  white  ?  Why  do  you  give  nothing  but  big  names  and  leave 
out  causes?  Why  does  she  waste  off  or  out  that  white  com- 
pound? Our  old  authors  have  never  told  us  a  word  that 
would  point  the  student  to  the  cause  of  such  wasting  of  the 
bread  and  meat  of  a  woman 's  life.  Is  not  her  blood  the  bread 
and  meat  that  sustain  her  life?  If  so,  what  effect  would  be 
natural  to  take  away  her  life  support?  How  high  up  her  back 
and  how  low  down  on  her  sacrum  will  the  student  find 
nodes  or  clusters  o'f  lymphatics,  glands,  blood-supply,  fascia, 
muscles,  membranes,  cells,  secretions,  and  excretions,  venous 
drainage,  and  arterial  supply?  In  a  word,  why  are  we  sum- 
moned to  learn  how  to  cure  an  affliction  on  whose  cause  you 
can  give  us  no  light?  As  this  is  said  to  be  a  school  of  philos- 
ophers, where  is  the  philosophy  you  have  to  offer  the  anxious 
seeker?  When  the  pilot  gets  lost,  then  a  committee  of  the 
whole  is  formed  and  suggestions  are  in  order,  from  all  or  any- 
one. A  new  pilot  is  sought.  Trouble  is  in  the  camp,  a  remedy 
is  demanded.  The  life  of  the  old  pilot  will  pay  the  penalty. 
A  mutiny  is  in  all  the  camps.  A  Moses  must  be  found  to  lead. 
No  old  field-notes  will  suit  for  guides.  We  have  followed  them 
to  the  letter.  We  are  lost,  and  to  follow  farther  will  be  suicidal. 
"Nature's  compass  must  guide  us,"  is  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee of  the  whole.  Now  let  Moses  tell  what  leucorrhoea  is, 
and  its  cure. 


2l8       PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

DROPSY. 

The  woman  has  dropsy  to  contend  with.  That  does  not 
come  from  her  lungs  (a  dropsical  condition  often  comes  in  con- 
sumption as  a  final  wind-up).  In  case  a  patient  with  dropsical 
swelling  of  body  and  limbs  should  come  to  you  for  examina- 
tion, I  would  advise  a  careful  one,  beginning  with  the  atlas. 
Be  very  careful  to  know  that  it  is  true  with  the  skull  in  all 
positions.  A  slip  of  the  odontoid  process  over  the  transverse 
ligament  would  place  the  atlas  on  a  lateral  and  downward 
pressure  on  the  lymphatic  nerves  just  'below  the  axis.  A  fail- 
ure of  the  cellular  action  would  follow,  and  lymphatic  and  cell- 
ular membrane  would  retain  water  and  other  fluids  in  the  lung 
muscles  and  the  heart  and  pleura.  Thus  a  beginning  is  estab- 
lished for  general  dropsy.  Now  follow  up  the  process  of  crippling 
other  nerves  below,  to  the  full  extent  of  the  body  and  limbs. 
A  break  of  the  articulations  of  the  upper  dorsal  will  cut  off  the 
powers  of  all  nerves  of  supply  and  drainage  below  the  point  of 
broken  perfection.  Then  you  have  a  cause  for  enlargement  of 
the  liver,  spleen,  kidneys,  and  all  organs  below  the  diaphragm. 
The  time  to  reason  is  the  time  when  we  are  in  prison,  badly 
treated,  and  want  to  get  out.  The  time  has  come  for  all  fairly 
good  thinkers  to  think  themselves  out  of  Osier,  Byron  Rob- 
inson, Shaley,  and  all  prisons  of  torture. 

In  speaking  to  students  on  the  subject  of  the  uterus,  giv- 
ing its  abnormal  conditions,  such  as  tumors,  cancers,  and  other 
growths  that  change  the  uterus  from  the  healthy  to  the  un- 
healthy, we  presented  first  the  normal,  healthy  uterus  as  a  guide 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  differences  between  the  healthy  and 
the  unhealthy  womb.  The  object  of  the  doctor  is  to  relieve 
when  employed  to  treat  the  abnormal  uterus.  He  should  at 
all  times  hold  the  picture  of  the  normal  uterus  before  his  mind, 
as  to  form,  size,  and  location,  its  blood-  and  nerve-supply.  It 
would,  as  I  consider  it,  be  quite  useless  to  consume  your  time 


THE  PELVIS.  219 

on  descriptive  anatomy  at  this  point,  farther  than  to  say  that 
the  blood-supply  of  this  organ  comes  mainly  from  the  ovarian, 
internal  pudic,  and  uterine  arteries.  We  will  simply  mention 
the  sympathetic  plexuses,  with  the  lumbar,  lower  dorsal,  and 
sacral  nerves  in  their  relation  to  the  uterus,  constituting  its 
nerve-supply,  and  the  importance  of  having  the  venous  system 
perfectly  undisturbed,  that  it  can  easily  pass  the  venous  blood, 
whose  vitality  has  been  exhausted  while  in  the  service,  into 
the  vena  cava  through  its  ordinary  route  to  the  heart,  previous 
to  being  thrown  into  the  lungs  for  final  mixture  with  air  and 
lymph,  at  which  place  it  receives  the  nutriment  for  new  blood, 
to  be  returned  to  the  heart  for  general  distribution.  We  are 
in  full  view  of  two  channels  that  become  obstructed  previous 
to  the  growth  of  any  tumor  or  malformation  of  the  uterus,  ova- 
ries, Fallopian  tubes,  or  any  parts  of  this  system.  These  two 
channels  in  which  the  venous  blood  and  the  lymph  can  be 
checked  or  stopped  are  known  to  us  as  the  lymphatic  and  ven- 
ous channels.  How  they  are  stopped  in  transit  long  enough  to 
do  mischief  with  and  in  the  vicinity  of  these  organs  is  the  ques- 
tion that  we  must  solve,  or  grope  in  the  dark  with  no  certainty 
of  good  results  in  banishing  the  oppressive  causes  of  uterine 
deformities.  We  can  reason  that  if  we  ligate  a  uterine  arte^ 
we  have  cut  off  nutrition  and  the  organ  becomes  atrophied  or 
shrunken.  Then,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  stop  the  venous 
return  by  ligation,  either  with  a  cord  or  compress,  and  have 
left  the  arterial  circulation  undisturbed,  the  venous  blood  will 
accumulate  and  unite  with  the  lymph  and  become  a  nucleus 
for  tumors  of  various  dimensions,  which  could  not  have  had 
existence  had  the  blood-  and  nerve-systems  not  been  disturbed 
by  being  shut  off 

CAUSE  OF  UTERINE  DISTURBANCES. 

With  this  knowledge  of  the  form  and  functions  of  the  uter- 
us and  all  that  belongs  to  it,  we  are  prepared  to  seek  and  know 


220  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

the  cause  of  uterine  disturbances.  A  successful  healing  of  the 
uterus  and  its  appendages  depends  wholly  upon  the  nutriment 
delivered  by  the  artery,  the  drainage  by  the  venous  system, 
and  the  unobstructed  nerve-force  necessary  to  normal  uterine 
health.  Now  let  us  proceed  to  hunt  for  the  causes  that  would 
interfere  with  the  harmony  of  the  blood-  and  nerve-systems  of 
the  womb.  Let  us  force  the  caecum,  which  is  two  or  three 
inches  in  diameter,  into  the  pelvis  down  to  the  level  with  the 
perineum,  and  drag  the  uterus  down  by  the  side  of  the  rectum 
in  a  position  between  the  rectum  and  caecum.  Pile  the  small 
intestine  and  'mesentery  on  top  of  the  uterus  when  wedged 
down  into  the  pelvis  in  this  position;  then  from  the  left  side 
bring  the  sigmoid  colon  with  its  contents  on  top  of  this  heap; 
then  have  a  dropping  toward  the  pelvis  of  the  transverse  colon. 
You  have  a  heavy  strain  on  the  mesentery  of  the  descending 
colon  and  transverse  and  caecum,  all  pointing  and  settling  down 
with  their  contents  upon  the  uterus.  We  see  at  once  a  system 
of  ligation  of  all  the  uterine  blood-vessels  and  nerves,  except- 
ing the  uterine  arteries,  which  continue  to  pump  arterial  blood 
into  the  muscles  and  membranes  of  the  uterus.  Thus  we  have 
a  cause  for  unlimited  growth,  and  we  can  expect  tumors,  and 
would  be  very  much  disappointed  if  we  did  not  find  them.  If 
we  wish  to  reduce  the  tumor,  we  must  proceed  to  remove  the 
obstructing  causes,  with  the  expectation  of  relieving  and 
reducing  the  abnormal  growths  through  natural  channels  of 
drainage.  One  would  say,  ' '  How  large  a  tumor  can  be  reduced 
by  the  natural  drainage?"  I  cannot  answer  that  question.  I 
have  reduced  a  number  whose  diameter  was  from  four  to  six 
inches,  without  the  use  of  the  surgeon's  knife.  I  am  satisfied 
that  some  tumors  are  not  reducible,  from  the  fact  that  they 
.have  passed  the  point  of  vital  response  before  applying  for  a 
osteopathic  treatment. 


THE  PELVIS.  221 

LESS  HASTE  WITH  THE  KNIFE. 

Let  me  ask  the  surgeon  of  our  gynaecological  department 
not  to  be  too  hasty  in  the  use  of  the  knife,  when  a  supposed 
tumor  of  the  ovaries,  uterus,  or  Fallopian  tubes  appears.  Re- 
member that  life  is  very  sacred  and  the  responsibility  is  great, 
and  that  wisdom  is  often  cautious  procrastination.  We  want 
to  know  to  a  certainty  that  the  only  hope  to  save  life  is  in  the 
use  of  the  knife  before  we  use  it.  We  should  prove  by  skill, 
time,  and  patience  that  all  the  organs  of  the  abdomen  have 
been  adjusted  and  kept  in  their  normal  places,  to  do  their  full- 
est and  best  work  in  carrying  off  all  fluids  that  can  be  taken 
away  from  the  tumor  by  the  excretories  of  the  uterus  and  all  its 
appendages.  The  blood  and  lymph  that  is  being  delayed  by 
any  ligatory  cause  must  move  on,  be  that  in  the  mesentery, 
omentum,  or  bowels,  caused  by  having  been  twisted,  folded, 
or  fallen  into  the  pelvis  by  lifts,  strains,  or  irritable  effects  of 
drugs.  We  must  remember  that  no  tumor  can  form  without 
a  cause,  and  that  the  cause  is  surely  a  break  in  the  action  of 
one  or  more  of  the  organ's  nerves  or  blood-vessels.  We  know 
that  no  tumor  can  be  made  from  nothing,  and  we  also  know 
that  blood  brings  all  the  substances  that  are  found  in  the  make- 
up of  all  tumors.  We  will  reason  that  if  we  do  not  want  it  to 
grow  larger,  we  must  know  the  blood-vessels  that  bring  the 
blood  by  which  it  is  being  built  will  go  on  until  the  blood  stops 
coming  or  passes  away  by  the  veins  or  excretories. 

Make  your  diagnosis  exhaustive  before  you  are  satisfied 
that  there  is  an  abnormal  growth  in  the  vicinity  of  or  on  the 
uterus.  We  should  be  very  careful  about  it,  from  the  fact  that 
faecal  deposits  in  some  divisions  of  the  colon  have  the  appear- 
ance of  a  tumor,  and  these  should  be  investigated  before  the 
diagnosis  is  announced  of  a  uterine  tumor.  Preparatory  to 
exploring  for  tumors  of  fleshy  growths  or  deposits  of  faecal  mat- 
ter in  the  colon,  we  recommend  placing  the  patient  in  the  knee- 


222  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

and-chest  position,  with  the  chest  for  ease  and  comfort  resting 
on  a  pillow,  allowing  the  chin  to  hang  over  the  head  end  of  the 
table.  Pass  the  right  hand  across  the  body  in  the  lumbar  region 
and  under  the  abdomen  to  the  right  iliac  fossa.  Then  place 
the  right  hand  flat  upon  the  bowels  from  the  pelvis,  with  the 
left  hand  pressing  gently  on  that  part  of  the  abdomen.  Be 
slow  and  gentle  in  all  movements,  for  fear  of  bruising  the  cae- 
cum, ileo-caecal  valve,  and  the  mesentery  of  that  region.  Make 
a  gentle,  strong  pressure  upward  toward  the  ribs  with  the 
ascending  colon.  Follow  across  the  abdomen  from  right  to  left, 
in  order  to  straighten  up  the  transverse  colon  to  its  normal 
position.  Then  lay  the  hand  back  toward  the  symphysis  and 
gently  press  the  sigmoid  division  toward  the  stomach,  with  a 
view  to  pulling  that  division  of  the  colon  and  small  intestine 
out  of  the  pelvis.  Then,  with  both  hands  gently  and  firmly 
pressed  upon  the  anterior  region  of  the  abdomen,  come  up 
toward  the  stomach  with  this  gliding  motion,  with  a  view  to 
straightening  the  bowels,  from  the  caecum  to  the  transverse, 
the  descending  and  sigmoid  division  to  the  rectum.  Also 
adjust  the  mesentery  in  all  its  attachments  both  to  the  large  and 
small  intestines,  and  give  freedom  to  the  ileo-caecal  valve,  that 
the  softening  fluids  may  pass  without  delay  into  and  through 
the  colon.  By  so  doing,  we  set  at  liberty  and  give  freedom  to 
the  blood-  and  nerve-supply  of  the  uterus,  ovaries,  and  Fallo- 
pian tubes.  We  also  take  all  pressure  off  the  nerves  which  gov- 
ern the  uterus  and  venous  motion  of  blood  from  the  pelvis  and 
through  the  whole  uterine  system  of  blood,  nerves,  and  lym- 
phatics, in  the  hope  that  proper  reduction  of  uterine  growths 
may  be  the  result  following  excretory  action  of  the  uterus  and 
its  normal  functioning  process ;  also  that  the  hardening  faeces 
may  be  softened  and  passed  out  with  the  assistance  of  the 
fluids  penetrating  the  colon  after  being  set  free  from  the  small 
intestine  after  passing  the  ileo-caecal  valve  in  the  colon.  This 


THE    PELVIS.  223 

treatment  should  be  followed  every  two  or  three  days  until  the 
abdominal  viscera  become  normal  in  action  and  abnormal 
bulks  have  passed  away  through  the  universal  excretory  sys- 
tem of  the  abdomen,  with  all  of  which  you  are  well  acquainted 
by  your  knowledge  of  anatomy  and  physiology.  Don 't  fail  to 
persevere  in  well-doing. 

TUMEFACTION. 

Webster's  definition  of  "tumefaction"  is:  "To  swell  by 
any  fluids  or  solids  being  detained  abnormally  at  any  place  in 
the  body." 

The  location  may  be  in  or  on  any  part  of  the  system.  No 
part  is  exempt.  The  brain,  heart,  lungs,  liver,  stomach  and 
bowels,  bladder,  kidneys,  uterus,  lymphatics,  glands,  nerves, 
veins,  arteries,  skin,  and  all  membranes  are  subject  to  swellings 
locally  or  generally,  and  with  equal  certainty  they  perish  and 
shrink  away.  If  either  condition  should  exist,  death  to  the 
parts  or  all  of  the  body  will  occur  from  want  of  nutrition ;  for 
instance,  in  lung  fever,  which  begins  when  swelling  is  established 
in  the  lymphatics  of  the  lungs,  trachea,  nostrils,  throat,  and 
face.  We  find  the  nerve-fibers  compressed  to  such  a  degree 
that  they  cannot  operate  the  excretories  of  the  lungs  or  any 
part  of  the  pulmonary  system.  The  blood  in  veins  is  sus- 
pended by  irritation  of  the  nerves,  and  arteries  are  excited  to 
fever  heat  with  the  increase  of  the  tumefaction.  A  tumefying 
condition  undoubtedly  marks  the  beginning  of  all  catarrhal  dis- 
eases. Its  ravages  extend  to  diseases  of  the  fall  and  winter 
seasons.  They  are  so  marked  on  examination  that  the  most 
skeptical  cannot  dispute  or  doubt  the  truth  of  this  position. 

The  medical  doctor  looks  on,  and  treats  winter  diseases 
with  powerful  purgatives,  sweats,  blisters,  and  uses  hot  and  cold 
applications  with  a  view  to  removing  congesting  fluids.  He  is 
not  very  certain  which  team  of  medical  power  he  can  depend 
upon.  He  hitches  up  various  kinds  of  drugs,  hoping  that  a  few 


224  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

of  them  may  be  able  to  carry  the  burden.  He  bridles  his  horses 
with  opium,  loads  them  down  with  purgative  powders,  and 
whips  them  through  with  castor  oil,  and  for  fear  they  will  not 
travel  fast  enough,  he  uses  as  a  spur  a  delicately  formed  instru- 
ment know  as  the  hypodermic  syringe.  He  punches  and 
prods  until  his  horses  fall  exhausted.  Disease  and  death  should 
give  him  a  large  pension  for  the  assistance  he  has  rendered  in 
their  service.  All  is  guess-work,  whose  father  and  mother  are 
"tradition  and  ignorance."  It  is  ignorance  of  the  kind  that  is 
wholly  inexcusable  to  anyone  but  a  medical  doctor.  An  osteo- 
path who  does  not  understand  the  general  law  of  tumefaction 
is  a  failure  because  of  the  fact  that  tumefaction,  disease,  and 
death  are  so  plainly  written  on  the  face  of  all  diseases  that  the 
blind  need  not  have  eyes  to  see,  nor  the  philosopher  any  brain 
to  enable  him  to  know  this  foundation  is  the  highest  known 
truth  of  all  man's  intellectual  possessions.  Thus,  by  the  law  of 
tumefaction,  death  can  and  does  succumb  to  its  indomitable 
will.  Observation  will  show  any  fair-minded  person  that  tume- 
faction causes  death  in  the  majority  of  cases.  But  another 
power  is  equally  as  effective  in  destruction  of  life,  which  is  just 
the  reverse  of  tumefaction.  It  destroys  by  withholding  nutri- 
tion and  all  of  the  fluids,  and  the  effect  is  starvation,  shrinkage, 
and  death.  Thus  you  see  it  is  equally  certain  in  results.  In 
the  one  case  death  ensues  from  an  overplus  of  unappropriated 
fluids  of  nutrition ;  in  the  other  there  is  no  appropriation  to  sus- 
tain animal  life,  and  the  patient  dies  from  starvation.  The 
same  law  holds  good  in  any  part  as  well  as  in  the  whole  body. 


CHAPTER  X. 


Fevers. 

WHAT  ARE  FEVERS? 

Bilious  fever,  yellow  fever,  chills  and  fever,  and  every  name 
and  grade  of  fevers  are  effects  of  interrupted  or  perverted 
physiological  functioning. 

DRUGS  A  FAILURE. 

With  my  fifty  years  of  experience  in  treating  disease  in  its 
great  multitude  of  forms,  I  feel  that  I  am  competent  to  speak 
of  the  weakness  of  drug  medication  theories  and  the  drug  med- 
ication training  followed  in  the  so-called  "old  schools  of  medi- 
cine." I  was  a  disciple  of  the  "old  school"  for  many  years  and 
among  its  most  faithful  practitioners,  until  a  better  intelligence 
and  a  better  understanding  of  God 's  provisions  for  the  cure  of 
human  ills  in  the  body  mechanism  itself  led  me  to  sever  the  ties 
that  once  held  me  blindly  to  drug  medication. 

Typhoid  fever,  bilious  fever,  yellow  fever,  scarlet  fever, 
mountain  fever,  hectic  fever,  and  all  other  fevers  known  by 
various  names,  are  simply  effects  with  different  appearances; 
but  to  seek  and  to  know  the  cause  or  causes  that  produced  the 
effects  has  ever  been  lost  sight  of  by  the  doctors  of  the  "old 
school."  No  attention,  or  very  little,  if  any,  has  ever  been 
given  to  the  parts  of  the  body  in  a  search  for  physical  changes 
that  have  caused  unnatural  conditions  in  functions.  They 
have  been  drilled  in  the  faith  that  symptoms,  well  known,  con- 
stitute a  sufficient  wisdom  with  which  to  open  the  fight.  The 


226  PHILOSOPHY  AND   PRINCIPLES  OP   OSTEOPATHY. 

drug  physician  finds  some  "heat"  in  the  patient.  He  thinks 
that  if  he  learns  how  "hot"  his  patient  is,  he  then  is  hi  a 
position  prepared  to  open  the  combat.  He  feels  for  his  ' '  pig- 
tail thermometer,"  and  lo!  he  finds  that  it  has  slipped  through 
a  hole  in  his  pocket  and  is  lost.  And  the  owner  of  the  ther- 
mometer is  just  as  totally  lost. 

The  M.  D.'s  training  is  largely  limited  to  observation  of 
pulse  and  temperature.  In  the  case  of  fever  he  has  been  loaded 
up  with  the  importance  of  finding  out  how  "hot"  his  patient  is 
in  the  morning  and  how  much  hotter  he  gets  at  night,  on  through 
the  days  as  the  disease  grows  older  in  days  and  weeks.  He  is 
exhorted  to  keep  a  record  of  the  degrees  of  heat,  two,  four,  six, 
twelve,  and  twenty-four  hours  apart,  and  keep  a  similar  tab  on 
the  pulse.  He  has  been  well  drilled  in  the  use  of  his  unclean 
thermometer  that  goes  into  the  rectum,  the  vagina,  under  the 
arm,  and  then  into  the  mouth  of  a  patient,  but  no  thought  is 
given  to  the  physical  changes  of  form  or  the  functions  of  the 
affected  organs  of  the  body.  Nor  is  the  student  of  that  school 
shown  the  causes  of  the  change  in  temperature  and  pulse.  His 
leading  guides  stick  in  their  examinations  and  diagnosis  to  the 
pulse.  He  pulls  out  his  watch  and  times  the  beats  of  the  heart 
at  6  A.  M.,  writes  83;  at  6  p.  M.,  85;  next  day  at  6  A.  M.,  84;  at 
night,  87;  and  so  the  record  of  gains  or  losses  goes  on. 

He  has  learned  to  tell  what  his  patient's  temperature  is 
each  day  for  a  week;  how  much  headache  or  limbache  he  has 
had;  how  body- tired  and  how  sore  he  has  been;  how  thirsty 
he  was;  how  many  tunes  the  bowels  moved  in  twenty-four 
hours;  how  yellow,  brown,  red,  or  furrowed  the  tongue  has 
been  on  the  first,  the  fifth,  seventh,  ninth,  and  fifteenth  days; 
but  he  has  never  been  told  by  his  school  that  these  symptoms 
are  only  the  effects  and  not  the  cause  of  disease. 

"Now  we  have  the  symptoms,  and  we  will  put  them  all  in 
a  row  and  name  the  disease,"  says  the  medical  doctor.  "  We 


FEVERS.  227 

will  call  it  typhoid,  bilious,  or  by  some  other  name  before  we 
begin  to  treat  it.  Now  that  we  have  named  it,  we  will  run  out 
our  munitions  of  war  and  pour  in  hot  shot  and  shell  at  each 
symptom."  The  command  is  given,  "Throw  into  the  enemy's 
camp  a  large  shell  of  purgative,  marked  'hydrargyri  chlo- 
ridum  mite.' "  Then  the  order  comes  to  stop  that  groaning 
and  those  pains.  "Fire  a  few  shots  into  the  arm  with  a  hypo- 
dermic syringe  loaded  with  a  grain  of  morphine,"  is  the  next 
command.  Then  one  might  add,  "  I/ook  at  the  pigtailum  oftenum 
and  note  the  temperum  till  it  reaches  106."  But  he  is  given 
no  idea  of  the  cause  of  the  trouble  on  which  to  reason. 

AN  ARRAY  OF  TRUTHS. 

The  above  is  given  as  an  array  of  truths  from  start  to  fin- 
ish. My  object  is  to  draw  the  mind  of  the  student  of  osteop- 
athy to  the  necessity  of  his  thinking  well  as  he  reads  books  on 
diseases  written  by  medical  authors.  One  of  the  requirements 
of  the  old  school,  and  one  on  which  so  much  stress  is  laid,  is  the 
knowledge  of  symptomatology  by  which  they  are  first  to  name 
the  disease,  the  name  to  give  them  a  foundation  on  which  to 
build  the  course  of  treatment  by  drugs.  Their  books  gener- 
ally begin  by  telling  us  that  fever  is  an  abnormal  heat  that 
shows  a  degree  of  abnormality  beginning  at  about  99  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  and  often  running  to  105  and  106  degrees.  These 
effects  are  told  and  pointed  out  in  detail,  and  if  a  certain  amount 
of  symptoms  are  found  in  a  case,  that  case  must  be  called  typhoid 
fever  and  treated  by  the  sacred  rules  laid  down  centuries  ago 
for  the  treatment  of  that  disease.  Still  they  tell  us  that  "they 
are  self -limited  diseases."  Then  they  take  up  other  fevers 
whose  symptoms  are  similar  in  so  many  respects  that  one  is 
puzzled  to  know  what  name  to  give  the  disease.  He  does 
not  find  quite  enough  symptoms  to  warrant  him  in  calling  it 
typhoid  fever.  Then  he  is  at  sea  without  a  compass  and  is 
to  do  the  best  he  can,  even  though  boat  and  crew  may  be  lo*' 


228  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

We  are  in  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century,  and  the 
wisest  doctors  of  all  our  schools  and  systems  of  the  healing  art 
have  said  that  typhoid  fever  is  "a  self -limited "  disease,  in  the 
treatment  of  which  "drugs  are  a  total  failure."  This,  in  sub- 
stance is  the  conclusion  of  them  all,  excepting  the  most  big- 
oted, and  we  believe  that  the  conclusion  is  an  honest  and  a  wise 
one.  The  old-school  physician  is  now  saying,  "Keep  out  the 
drugs  and  bring  in  the  nurses."  And  I  will  say,  that  they  give 
to  the  world  no  more  light  on  any  other  fever,  and  no  more  hope 
to  succeed  with  drugs  in  the  treatment  of  any  other  fever.  I 
believe  that  they  have  turned  on  their  very  best  searchlights 
and  ploughed  through  every  possible  sea  in  their  hunt  for  the 
wise  god  of  drugs,  and  all  in  vain. 

I  have  been  your  leader  for  nearly  thirty  years,  but  I  have 
had  no  books  to  guide  me  excepting  those  on  descriptive  and 
demonstrative  anatomy,  and  those  few  in  such  crude  form  that 
they  only  suggest  the  wondrous  provision  that  the  God  of 
Nature  has  placed  in  man  with  which  to  ward  off  or  banish  the 
cause  of  disease,  if  man  were  only  studious  and  would  only  learn 
enough  to  detect  the  variations,  and  readjust  the  deviations 
back  to  the  normal.  I  have  long  since  believed  that  an  engin- 
eer of  the  human  body  was  the  sick  man's  only  hope,  and  to 
become  a  competent  engineer  the  student  must  become  mas- 
terly proficient  in  the  knowledge  of  all  the  parts  of  that  won- 
derful machine  and  the  functions  of  all  its  parts.  Not  only  to 
know  the  anatomical  forms  and  positions  of  the  parts,  but  to 
thoroughly  know  the  entire  system,  the  head,  neck,  chest,  abdo- 
men, pelvis,  and  limbs,  with  each  separate  function,  and  all 
functions  in  harmonious  combination,  free  to  perform  their 
work  as  Nature  had  planned  for  man's  health  and  comfort. 

BEGIN  WITH  FACTS. 

When  we  reason  for  causes,  we  "iust  begin  with  facts,  and 
hold  them  constantly  in  line.  I :  would  be  a  good  plan  for  you 


FEVERS.  229 

never  to  enter  into  a  contest  unless  your  saber  is  of  the  purest 
steel  of  reason.  With  the  best  only  can  you  cut  your  way  to 
the  magazine  of  truth. 

As  we  line  up  to  learn  something  of  the  causes  of  fever,  we 
are  met  by  heat,  a  living  fact.  Does  that  put  the  machinery 
of  your  mind  in  motion?  If  not,  what  will  arouse  your  men- 
tal energy?  You  see  that  heat  is  not  like  cold.  It  is  not 
a  horse  with  eyes,  head,  neck,  body,  limbs,  and  tail,  but  it  is 
as  much  of  a  being  as  a  horse.  It  is  a  being  of  heat.  If  cause 
made  the  horse  and  cause  made  the  heat,  why  not  devote 
energy  in  seeking  the  cause  of  both? 

Who  says  heat  is  not  a  union  of  the  human  gases  with  oxy- 
gen and  other  substances  as  they  pass  out  of  the  excretory  sys- 
tem? By  what  force  do  parts  of  the  engine  of  life  move?  If 
by  the  motor  power  of  electricity,  how  fast  must  the  heart  or 
life-current  run  to  ignite  the  gases  of  the  body  and  set  a  person 
on  fire  to  fever  heat?  If  we  know  anything  of  the  laws  of  elec- 
tricity, we  must  know  that  velocity  modulates  its  tempera-' 
ture.  Thus  heat  and  cold  are  the  effects.  If  we  understand 
anatomy  as  we  should,  we  know  man  is  the  greatest  engine 
ever  produced,  complete  in  form,  an  electro-magnet,  a  motor 
which  would  be  incomplete  if  it  could  not  burn  its  own  gases. 

ON  FIRE. 

When  man  is  said  to  have  fever,  he  is  only  "on  fire"  to 
burn  out  the  deadly  gases  which  a  perverted,  abnormal  lab- 
oratory has  allowed  to  accumulate  by  friction  of  the  journals 
of  his  body  or  in  the  supply  of  vital  fluids.  We  are  only  com- 
plete when  normal  in  all  parts;  a  true  compass  points  to  the 
normal  only. 

When  reasoning  on  the  fever  subject,  would  it  not  be  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  the  lowest  perceptible  grade  of  fever 
requires  a  less  additional  physical  energy  to  remove  the  cause 


230  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

from  the  body,  which  at  first  would  show  a  very  light  effect 
upon  the  system,  with  an  effect  of  simply  an  itching  sensation? 
Might  not  this  effect  come  from  obstructed  gases  that  flow 
through  and  from  the  skin?  If  gas  should  be  retained  in  the 
system  by  the  excretory  ducts,  closing  the  porous  system, 
it  would  cause  irritation  of  nerves  and  increase  the  heart's 
action  to  such  a  degree  that  the  temperature  would  be  raised 
to  a  fever  heat  by  the  velocity  with  which  electricity  is  brought 
into  action.  Electricity  is  the  force  that  is  naturally  required 
to  contract  muscles  and  force  gases  from  the  body. 

Let  us  advance  higher  in  the  scale  until  we  arrive  at  the 
condition  of  steam,  which  is  more  dense  than  gas.  Would  it 
not  take  more  force  to  discharge  it?  By  the  same  rule  of  rea- 
soning we  find  water  to  be  much  thicker  as  an  element  than 
either  gas  or  steam. 

Then  we  have  lymph  as  another  element,  albumin,  fibrin, 
with  all  the  elements  found  in  arterial  and  venous  blood,  all 
of  which  would  require  forces  to  circulate  them,  pass  them 
through  and  out  of  the  system.  Therefore  we  are  brought  to 
the  conclusion,  that  the  different  degrees  of  temperature  mark 
the  density  of  the  fluids  with  which  the  motor  engine  has  to 
contend.  If  gas  produces  an  itching  sensation,  would  it  not 
be  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  consistence  of  lymph  would 
cause  elevations  on  the  skin,  such  as  nettle-rash? 

WE  ARE  LED  ON. 

If  this  method  of  reasoning  sustains  us  thus  far,  why  not 
argue  that  albumin  obstructed  in  the  system  of  the  fascia  would 
require  a  much  greater  force  to  put  it  through  the  skin?  The 
excretions  of  the  body  would  cause  a  much  greater  heat  to  even 
throw  the  albumin  as  far  as  the  cuticle.  Why  not  grant  this 
a  cause  of  the  disturbance  of  motor  energy  equal  to  measles? 
Let  us  add  to  this  albumin  a  quantity  of  fibrin.  Have  we  not 


FEVERS.  231 

cause  to  expect  the  energy  hereby  required  to  be  equal  to  the 
nerve-  and  blood-energy  found  in  smallpox?  If  this  be  true, 
have  we  not  a  foundation  on  which  to  base  the  conclusion  that 
the  difference  in  forces  manifested  is  the  resistance  offered  by 
the  differences  in  the  consistency  of  devitalized  fluids  which 
the  nerves  and  fibers  of  the  fascia  are  laboring  to  excrete? 

By  close  observation  the  philosopher  who  is  endeavoring 
to  acquaint  himself  with  the  laws  of  cause  and  effect  finds  upon 
his  voyage  as  an  explorer  that  Nature  acts  for  wise  purposes, 
and  shows  as  much  wisdom  in  the  construction  and  prepara- 
tion of  all  bodies,  beings,  and  worlds  as  the  workings  of  those 
beings  show  when  in  action.  As  life,  the  highest  known  prin- 
ciple sent  forth  by  Nature  to  vivify,  construct,  and  govern  all 
beings,  it  is  expected  to  be  the  indweller  and  operator,  and  one 
of  the  greatest  perceivable  and  universal  laws  of  Nature.  When 
it  becomes  necessary  to  break  the  friendly  relation  between 
life  and  matter,  Nature  closes  up  the  channels  of  supply.  It 
may  begin  its  work  near  the  heart,  at  the  origin  of  the  greatest 
blood-vessels,  or  do  its  work  at  any  point.  It  may.  begin  its 
closing  process  at  the  extremities  of  the  veins,  or  anywhere  that 
exhausted  vital  fluids  may  enter  on  their  return  to  the  heart 
for  renewal  by  union  with  new  material. 

As  Nature  is  never  satisfied  with  incompleteness  in  any- 
thing, all  interferences,  from  whatsoever  cause,  are  sufficient 
for  Nature  to  call  a  halt  and  bring  the  necessary  fluids,  already 
prepared  in  the  chemical  laboratory,  to  dissolve  and  wash  away 
all  obstructing  deposits,  previous  to  beginning  the  work  of  re- 
construction and  the  repair  of  the  injured  parts  of  the  machin- 
ery disabled  by  atmospheric  changes,  poisons,  or  otherwise. 

PERFECTION  IN  NATURE. 

When  Nature  renovates,  it  is  never  satisfied  to  leave  any 
obstruction  in  any  part  of  the  body.  All  the  powers  of  its  bat- 


232  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

teries  are  brought  into  line  for  duty,  and  never  stop  short  of 
the  completeness  that  ends  in  perfection.  All  seasons  of  the 
year  come  and  go,  and  we  see,  year  in  and  year  out,  the  per- 
petual processes  of  construction  of  one  class  of  bodies  and  the 
passing  away  of  others.  Vegetation  builds  forests;  cold  builds 
mountains  of  ice,  later  to  be  dissolved  and  sent  into  the  ocean 
to  assist  in  purifying  the  water  and  keeping  the  brines  from 
drying  to  salt. 

All  the  processes  of  earth-life  must  be  in  perpetual  motion 
to  be  kept  in  a  healthy  condition;  otherwise  the  world  would 
wither  and  die  and  go  to  the  tombs  of  space  to  join  the  funeral 
procession  of  other  dead  worlds.  All  nature  comes  and  goes 
by  the  fiat  of  wisely  adjusted  laws.  Read  all  the  authors  from 
^sculapius  to  this  date,  and  leave  the  inquirers  without  a  single 
fact  as  to  the  cause  or  causes  of  fever.  One  says  fever  may 
come  from  too  much  carbon;  another  says  chemical  defects  may 
be  the  cause.  I  would  like  to  agree  with  some  of  the  good  men 
of  our  day  or  the  ancient  theorists  if  I  could,  but  they,  both 
dead  and  alive,  are  a  blank.  Tons  of  paper  have  been  covered 
with  them  by  conjectures,  and  closed  with  the  words  "perhaps" 
and  "however."  All  have  explored  for  centuries  for  the  cause 
of  fevers,  and  on  the  return  from  their  voyages  say:  "We 
hope  some  day  to  find  the  cause.  We  have  done  considerable 
killing,  experimenting,  but  have  failed  to  find  the  cause  of 
fever." 

DEGREES  OF  HEAT. 

To  think  of  fever,  we  think  of  animal  heat.  By  habit 
we  want  to  know  how  great  that  heat  is.  We  measure  it  with 
a  thermometer  until  we  find  we  have  100  degrees,  102,  104,  to 
1 06  degrees.  At  this  point  we  stop,  as  we  find  too  much  to 
suit  life,  which  we  think  cannot  consume  more  than  106  degrees 
of  heat.  We  begin  to  ask  for  the  substances  that  are  more 
powerful  than  fire.  We  try  all  known  fire  compounds  and  fail. 


FEVERS.  233 

The  fire  department  has  done  faithful  work,  and  has  brought 
all  it  could  bring  to  bear  on  the  fire.  It  had  used  stream  after 
stream  of  water,  but  the  fire  had  ruined  the  house,  with  all  its 
inside  and  outside  usefulness  and  beauties.  Another  and 
another  house  gets  on  fire  and  burns  as  the  first  one  did.  All 
are  content  to  look  at  the  ruins  and  say  that  it  is  the  will  of 
the  Lord,  never  thinking  for  a  moment  it  was  with  the  aid  of 
the  heart  that  the  brain  burned  up  the  body. 

Of  what  use  is  a  knowledge  of  anatomy  to  a  man  if  he  over- 
looks cause  and  effect  in  the  results  obtained  by  the  body  ma- 
chinery? He  finds  each  part  connected  to  all  the  others  with 
the  wisdom  that  has  given  a  set  of  plans  and  specifications  that 
are  without  a  flaw  or  omission.  The  body  generates  its  own 
heat  and  modulates  it  to  suit  the  climate  and  season.  It  can 
generate  heat  through  its  electro-motor  system  far  beyond  the 
normal,  to  the  highest  known  fever  heat,  and  is  capable  of  mod- 
ulations far  below  the  normal.  A  knowledge  of  osteopathy 
will  prepare  you  to  bring  the  system  under  the  rulings  of  the 
physical  laws  of  life.  Fever  is  electric  heat  only. 

BOTH  GUESS- WORK. 

Semeiology  is  defined  as,  "The  science  of  the  signs  or  symp- 
toms of  disease."  Symptomatology  is  defined  as,  "  The  doc- 
trine of  symptoms;  that  part  of  the  science  of  medicine  which 
treats  of  the  symptoms  of  disease.  Semeiology."  These  defi- 
nitions are  from  Webster's  International  Dictionary.  Both 
words  represent  that  system  of  guess-work  which  is  now  and 
has  been  used  by  medical  practitioners  as  a  method  of  ascer- 
taining what  disease  is  or  might  be.  It  is  supposed  to  be  the 
best  method  known  to  date  to  classify  or  name  diseases,  after 
which  guessing  begins  in  earnest.  What  kinds  of  poisons, 
how  much  and  how  often  to  use  them,  and  then  guess  how 
much  good  or  how  much  harm  is  being  done  to  the  sick  person. 


234  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OP   OSTEOPATHY. 

To  illustrate  more  forcibly  to  the  mind  of  the  reader  that 
such  a  system,  though  honored  by  age,  is  only  worthy  the 
term  "guess-work,"  I  will  quote  the  following  standard  author- 
ity on  fevers: 

POTTER'S  DEFINITION  OP  FEVER. 

"Fever  is  a  condition  in  which  there  are  present  the  phe- 
nomena of  rise  of  temperature,  quickened  circulation,  marked 
tissue  change,  and  disordered  secretions. 

"The  primary  cause  of  the  fever  phenomena  is  still  a  moot- 
ed question,  and  is  either  a  disorder  of  the  sympathetic  nervous 
system  giving  rise  to  disturbances  of  the  vaso-motor  filaments, 
or  a  derangement  of  the  nerve-centers  located  adjacent  to 
the  corpus  striatum,  which  have  been  found,  by  experiment, 
to  govern  the  processes  of  heat-production,  distribution,  and 
dissipation. 

"Rise  of  temperature  is  the  pre-eminent  feature  of  all 
fevers,  and  can  only  be  positively  determined  by  the  use  of  the 
clinical  thermometer.  The  term  'feverishness'  is  used  when 
the  temperature  ranges  from  99°  to  100°  Fahrenheit;  slight 
fever  if  100°  or  101°,  moderate  if  102°  or  103°,  high  if  104°  or  105°, 
and  intense  if  it  exceed  the  latter.  The  term  'hyperpyrexia' 
is  used  when  the  temperature  shows  a  tendency  to  remain  at 
1 06°  Fahrenheit  and  above. 

"  Quickened  circulation  is  the  rule  in  fevers,  the  frequency 
usually  maintaining  a  fair  ratio  with  the  increase  of  the  tem- 
perature. A  rise  of  one  degree  Fahrenheit  is  usually  attended 
with  an  increase  of  eight  to  ten  beats  of  the  pulse  per  minute. 

"The  following  table  gives  a  fair  comparison  between 
temperature  and  pulse : 


FEVERS.  235 

Table  of  Degrees. 

A  temperature  of  98°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  60. 
A  temperature  of  99°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  70. 
A  temperature  of  100°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  80. 
A  temperature  of  101°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  90. 
A  temperature  of  102°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  100. 
A  temperature  of  103°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  no. 
A  temperature  of  104°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  120. 
A  temperature  of  105°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  130. 
A  temperature  of  106°  Fahrenh.  corresponds  to  a  pulse  of  140. 

"The  tissue  waste  is  marked  in  proportion  to  the  severity 
and  duration  of  the  febrile  phenomena,  being  slight  (or  nil)  in 
febricula,  and  excessive  in  typhoid  fever. 

"The  disordered  secretions  are  manifested  by  the  defi- 
ciency in  the  salivary,  gastric,  intestinal,  and  nephritic  secre- 
tions, the  tongue  being  furred,  the  mouth  clammy,  and  there 
occurring  anorexia,  thirst,  constipation,  and  scanty,  high- 
colored  acid  urine." 

What  has  the  student  found  by  reading  the  above  defini- 
tion of  this  standard  author  and  representative  of  present  med- 
ical attainment  but  a  labored  effort  to  explain  what  that  author 
does  not  even  know? 

FEVERS  ONLY 'EFFECTS. 

Fevers  are  effects  only.  The  cause  may  be  far  from  mental 
conclusions.  If  we  have  a  house  with  one  bell  and  ten  wires, 
each  fastened  to  a  door  and  running  to  the  center,  all  having 
connections  and  so  arranged  that  to  pull  any  one  wire  will  set 
the  bell  in  motion,  without  an  indicator  you  cannot  tell  which 
wire  is  disturbed,  producing  the  effect  or  ringing  of  the  bell  at 
the  center.  An  electrician  would  know  at  once  the  cause,  but 
to  discriminate  and  locate  the  wire  disturbed  is  the  study. 

Before  a  bell  can  be  heard  from  any  door,  the  general  bat- 
tery must  be  charged.  Thus  you  see  but  one  source  of  supply. 


236          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

To  better  illustrate,  we  will  take  a  house  with  eight  rooms  and 
all  supplied  by  one  battery.  One  apartment  is  a  reception- 
room,  one  a  parlor,  one  a  sitting-room,  one  a  bed-room,  one  a 
cloak-room,  one  a  dining-room,  one  a  kitchen,  and  one  a  base- 
ment room,  all  having  wires  and  bells  running  to  one  bell 
in  the  clerk 's  office,  which  has  an  indicator  for  each  room.  If 
the  machinery  is  in  good  order,  he  can  call  or  answer  cor- 
rectly every  ring  and  never  make  a  mistake.  But  should  he 
ring  to  the  cook  and  her  bell  should  keep  on  ringing  and 
they  could  not  stop  it,  they  would  summon  an  electrician. 
What  would  you  think  if  he  began  at  the  parlor  bell  to  adjust 
a  trouble  of  the  kitchen  bell?  Surely  you  would  not  have  him 
treat  the  parlor  bell  first,  because  you  know  the  trouble  is  with 
the  kitchen  bell.  Now,  to  apply  this  illustration,  we  will  say  a 
system  of  bells  and  connecting  wires  run  to  all  parts  or  rooms 
of  the  body,  from  the  battery  of  power  or  the  brain.  These 
wires  or  nerves  are  connected  with  all  active  or  vital  parts  of 
the  body.  Thus  arranged,  we  see  that  blood  is  driven  to  any 
part  of  the  system  by  the  power  that  is  sent  over  the  nerves 
from  the  brain  to  the  spinal  cord,  and  from  there  to  all  nerves 
of  each  and  all  divisions  of  the  body.  Then  blood  that  has 
done  its  work  in  constructing  parts  or  all  of  the  system  enters 
veins  to  be  returned  to  the  heart  for  renewal.  Each  vein 
has  nerves  as  servants  of  power  to  force  blood  back  to  the 
heart  and  constructed  to  suit  the  duties  they  have  to  perform 
in  the  process  of  life.  If  the  blood  travels  to  the  heart  too 
thick  to  suit  the  lungs,  the  great  system  of  lymphatics  pours  in 
water  to  suit  the  demands,  preparatory  to  having  the  blood 
enter  the  lungs  to  be  purified  and  renewed.  Nature  has  amply 
prepared  all  the  machinery  and  power  to  prepare  material  and 
construct  all  parts,  and  when  in  normal  condition  the  mind 
and  wisdom  of  God  is  satisfied  that  the  machine  will  go  on  and 
build  and  run  according  to  the  plans  and  specifications.  If 


FEVERS.  237 

this  be  true,  as  Nature  proves  it  to  be  at  every  point,  what  can 
man  do  farther  than  line  things  up  and  trust  to  Nature  to  ge': 
the  results  desired,  "life  and  health"?  Can  we  add  or  sugges 
any  improvement?  If  not,  what  is  left  for  us  to  do  is  to  keep 
bells,  batteries,  and  wires  in  their  normal  places  and  trust  to 
normal  laws  as  given  by  Nature  to  do  the  rest. 

RESULT  OF  STOPPAGE  OF  VEIN  OR  ARTERY. 
A  few  questions  remain  to  be  asked  by  the  philosophical 
navigator  when  he  sets  sail  to  go  to  the  cause  of  flux.  Would 
he  go  to  the  blood-supply?  Certainly,  there  must  be  supply 
previous  to  deposit.  Reason  would  cause  us  to  combine  the 
fact  that  blood  must  be  in  perpetual  motion  from  and  to  the 
heart  during  life,  and  that  law  is  the  fiat  of  all  Nature,  indis- 
pensable and  absolute.  Blood  must  not  stop  its  motion  nor 
be  allowed  to  make  abnormal  deposits.  The  work  of  the  heart 
is  complete  if  it  delivers  blood  into  the  arteries.  Each  divi- 
sion must  then  do  its  part  fully  as  the  normal  heart  does  in 
health,  and  a  normally  formed  heart  is  just  as  much  interested  in 
the  blood  that  is  running  constantly  for  repairs  and  additions 
as  the  whole  system  is  hi  the  arteries  of  supply.  You  must 
have  perfection  in  the  heart  first,  and  from  it  to  all  arteries. 
All  hindrances  must  be  kept  away  from  the  arteries,  great  and 
small.  Health  permits  of  no  stoppage  of  blood  in  either  the 
vein  or  artery.  If  an  artery  cannot  unload  its  contents,  a  strain 
follows,  and,  as  an  artery  must  have  room  to  deposit  its  sup- 
plies, it  proceeds  to  build  other  vessels  adjacent  to  the  points 
of  obstruction. 

FEVERS  ARE  FEVERS. 

Fevers  of  the  fall  and  summer  season  are  neither  hotter 
nor  colder  than  the  fevers  of  whiter  and  spring.  I  speak  thus 
to  impress  on  the  student's  mind  that  heat  is  heat  at  any  season 
of  the  year  and  is  common  to  all  diseases.  In  some  diseases 


238  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

heat  is  higher  than  in  other  diseases.  We  speak  of  bilious 
fever,  yellow  fever,  lung  fever,  and  a  long  list  of  fevers,  each 
one  bearing  a  special  name  as  measured  out  by  the  little 
books  on  symptomatology.  All  fail  to  show  any  difference 
between  the  fevers  of  eruptions  and  the  fevers  of  any  other 
disease,  notwithstanding  that  much  use  is  made  of  the  hand- 
thermometer  to  ascertain  just  how  hot  the  afflicted  person 
gets.  It  matters  little  with  an  osteopath  how  hot  or  how 
cold  a  patient  gets,  his  object  of  observation  being  in  another 
direction,  a  direction  that  leads  him  to  seek  the  cause  of  this 
fermentation  and  boiling  of  the  fluids  in  the  body.  Fluids 
delayed  in  the  blood-vessels,  lymphatics,  and  excretories  fer- 
ment, and  during  the  process  of  fermentation  the  temper- 
ature naturally  varies  many  degrees  by  the  increased  action 
of  electricity.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  before  fermen- 
tation sets  up  its  action  it  must  have  something  to  act  upon, 
and,  as  it  acts  only  on  stagnant  blood,  it  must  find  this  stag- 
nant deposit  either  in  the  veins,  arteries,  lymphatics,  or  cell- 
ular tissues  of  the  organs,  vessels,  and  other  places  for  its 
temporary  sojourn.  We  are  ready  to  explore  any  organ  in  the 
thorax,  abdomen,  or  pelvis,  the  lymphatics  and  glands  of  the 
fascia,  superficial  and  deep,  or  any  membrane  of  the  body. 
In  fevers  we  may  expect  to  find  congestion  of  the  mesentery 
and  of  the  peritoneum  generally,  also  of  the  nerves,  blood- 
vessels, and  lymphatics  of  the  fascia.  We  may  expect  and  will 
find  deposits  and  resulting  chemical  action  that  will  show  its 
energy  by  the  degree  of  heat  that  is  expressed  by  the  touch  of 
the  hand  or  the  register  of  a  thermometer.  All  conspire  to 
prove  that  heat  is  only  an  effect. 

After  being  satisfied  that  there  are  no  two  kinds  of  heat, 
then  we  will  take  up  the  search  and  go  at  it  in  a  systematic 
hunt,  by  exploring  for  abnormal  variations  in  size  and  place  of 
any  organ,  muscle,  skin,  fascia,  lymphatics,  and  blood-vessels 


FEVERS.  239 

of  the  pelvis,  abdomen,  chest,  and  neck,  caused  by  local  or 
general  congestion 

Go  TO  THE  SPINE. 

A  study  of  the  nature  of  fevers  leads  us  to  the  spine.  We 
must  see  that  all  openings  from  the  base  of  the  skull  to  the 
lowest  point  of  the  sacrum  are  open  and  in  good  condition  to 
allow  free  action  of  all  nerves  issuing  from  the  spinal  cord  and 
giving  force  to  membranes,  organs,  muscles,  etc.  If  an  organ 
has  an  area  allotted  to  its  use,  we  must  reason  that  it  can  do  no 
perfect  work  outside  of  that  area.  Each  spine  must  be  per- 
fect in  place  and  in  articulation  at  each  joint  or  a  closure  will 
appear,  oppressing  and  hindering  the  action  of  the  lymph, 
nerves,  and  blood-vessels.  Thus  we  have  blood  and  other  sub- 
stances stopped  that  should  go  on  without  delay  to  their  proper 
destination  and  uses.  By  a  careful  study  of  the  perfect  spinal 
column  and  cord,  and  nerves  and  membranes  holding  organs 
and  vessels  in  place,  we  will  see  that  the  system  is  perfect  in 
bones,  their  shape,  size,  and  place,  with  openings  for  passages 
of  blood-vessels  and  nerves.  The  motion  of  the  spine  to  all 
points  is  perfect  and  does  not  interfere  with  the  blood-  and 
nerve-supply.  To  know  the  spinal  column  from  beginning  to 
end  is  wisdom  that  we  must  have  or  fail.  The  student  of  anat- 
omy knows  that  the  flesh  of  the  head,  face,  neck,  and  the  whole 
system  is  united  to  the  bones,  and  that  this  union  means  duties 
to  be  performed  by  the  softer  parts  that  are  held  in  place  or 
position  by  the  harder  parts,  for  the  process  of  functioning  to 
proceed.  He  also  knows  that  the  limit  or  space  allotted  to 
many  organs  is  small,  and  that  very  little  variation  from  this 
allotted  position  causes  impingement  upon  other  organs  by 
confused  nerve-action,  blood-supply,  and  removal  of  waste 
matter  through  the  excretory  provisions.  And  the  fact  being 
known  that  muscles  are  attached  to  bones,  and  that  bones 
articulate  and  have  openings  in  them  or  between  them  for  the 


240  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

passage  of  different  substances,  then  a  student  need  not  be  sur- 
prised, after  the  displacement  of  a  bone  occurs,  to  find  thick- 
enings appear  in  the  air-passages  of  the  nose  or  any  part  of 
the  lining  membranes  of  the  mouth,  the  tonsils,  the  tongue, 
the  throat,  or  the  muscles,  nerves,  or  glands  of  the  windpipe, 
right  back  of  which  he  will  find  membranes,  fascia,  ligaments, 
or  mesentery  to  suit  and  complete  the  perfect  attachment  of  the 
tongue  or  any  organ,  or  the  lining  membranes  of  the  mouth, 
tongue,  or  any  membrane  that  has  a  bony  attachment  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  system.  We  must  not  omit  the  importance 
that  Nature  has  attached  to  the  use  of  this  great  division  in  its 
work  in  the  economy  of  life.  The  student  must  remember 
that  he,  at  this  point,  enters  an  open  door  that  will  give  him  an 
opportunity  to  behold  a  part  of  the  laboratory  of  life.  He 
must  know  that  all  attachments  in  place  must  be  perpetual; 
also  they  must  not  be  bruised,  strained,  or  misplaced;  other- 
wise we  have  a  diseased  tongue,  tonsil,  epiglottis,  thyroid 
glands,  submaxillary  or  other  glands  of  the  face,  loss  of  hair, 
sight,  speech,  the  power  of  swallowing  or  hearing,  and  are  left 
in  a  condition  for  the  encouragement  of  abnormal  growths, 
owing  to  perverted  nerve-  and  blood-supply,  which  means, 
with  us,  the  artery  to  feed  and  the  vein  and  excretories  to  con- 
duct away  that  which  is  of  no  more  vital  use  to  an  organ  and  its 
territory.  As  the  trachea,  oesophagus,  lungs,  and  heart  all  have 
membranous  attachments  to  the  spine,  we  must  remember  that 
the  attachments  must  universally  be  undisturbed,  absolutely. 
Strains,  jars,  jolts,  partial  or  complete,  and  dislocations  of  spine 
or  ribs  may  cause  the  heart  and  lungs  by  their  own  weight  to 
pull  down  and  cause  a  heavy  straining  upon  the  membranes 
that  attach  these  organs  to  the  spine,  a  fact  undoubtedly  pro- 
ducing great  interference  with  the  sympathetic  nervous  sys- 
tem and  the  spinal  cord  with  its  assisting  nerve-fibers,  govern- 
ing and  forcing  the  arterial  blood  from  the  aorta  into  the  spinal 
openings. 


FEVERS.  241 

CONGESTION,  ETC. 

Another  cause  that  we  will  notice,  other  than  surgical 
injuries  that  pull  down  the  mesentery,  causing  much  variation 
from  the  normal,  is  that  of  extremes  in  heat  and  cold,  causing 
stoppage  of  blood,  lymph,  water,  and  other  fluids,  which  are 
detained  long  enough  to  set  up  congestion,  irritation,  fermenta- 
tion, inflammation,  and  sloughing  into  the  thoracic,  abdom- 
inal, and  pelvic  cavities,  and  which  should  have  been  conducted 
to  the  lungs  or  out  of  the  body  through  the  excretory  system. 
It  is  my  object  at  the  present  time  to  insist  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  the  student  to  the  very  important  fact  that  the  mem- 
branes which  hold  the  organs  of  the  body  in  place  lengthen  by 
heat  and  contract  by  cold.  This  membrane  we  call  the  mes- 
entery, the  peritoneum,  the  fascia,  muscular  attachment,  or  any 
other  name  we  may  select;  but  under  all  names  these  attach- 
ments will  stretch,  and  stretch  downwardly  by  the  law  of  grav- 
itation, causing  irritation  and  death  by  strangulation.  They 
will  do  this  work  of  death  by  strangulation  as  certainly  as  the 
hangman's  rope.  You  must  remember  that  no  unhealthy 
swing  will  be  tolerated  by  the  Master- Builder.  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  give  you  a  cause  that  produces  disease  of  the  pancreas, 
spleen,  stomach,  liver,  kidneys,  bowels,  and  uterus,  and  it  is 
done  by  the  pendulous  pulling  of  the  loaded  bowels  upon  the 
elastic  membranous  attachments  to  the  spine  You  often 
will  see  dropping  of  the  ascending  colon  from  the  right  iliac 
fossa,  which  is  the  normal  position  of  the  base  of  the  caecum. 
You  often  have  a  lengthening  of  the  mesentery  that  will  allow 
this  caecum  to  fall  from  three  to  seven  inches,  disguise  the  ileo- 
caecal  valve,  and  conduct  your  patient  to  death  by  prohibiting 
the  softer  fluids  from  passing  through  the  ileo-caecal  valve  to 
save  the  life  of  the  patient,  who  is  dying  from  hardened  faecal 
matter  in  the  colon,  from  the  caecum  to  any  point  above  the 
anus.  The  bad  effects  are  almost  innumerable  that  follow 


242  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

malpositions  of  any  organ,  from  the  mouth  to  the  anus,  by  their 
membranous  attachments  giving  way,  often  resulting  in  the 
removal  or  change  in  position  of  organ  after  organ.  This 
removal  and  new  position  taken  by  an  organ  would  easily 
indicate  the  cause  of  many  abnormal  manifestations,  such  as 
are  known  by  the  name  of  typhoid  fever,  dysentery,  flux, 
malposition  of  the  uterus,  malformation  of  the  uterus,  inflam- 
mation of  the  kidneys,  liver,  bladder,  and  so  on,  to  an  unlim- 
ited number  of  injurious  effects  that  can  all  be  reasoned  out 
and  traced  to  mesenteric  disturbances. 

LOOK  FOR  LESIONS. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  membranes  that  connect  the  tongue, 
trachea,  oesophagus,  lungs,  and  heart  to  the  spine  above  the 
diaphragm;  also  of  the  whole  list  of  membranes  that  hold  the 
liver,  spleen,  and  other  organs  of  the  abdomen  in  place.  I  have 
drawn  the  attention  of  the  student  to  the  blood-,  nerve-,  and 
lymph-supplies  of  the  mesenteric  systems  of  both  the  large  and 
small  bowels,  with  general  remarks  on  the  mesentery  of  all 
organs  of  the  abdomen  and  their  uses,  hi  order  that  the  student 
can  have  a  direct  method  in  seeking  the  causes  that  produce 
abnormal  conditions  of  any  organ  of  the  chest,  abdomen,  and 
pelvis.  Explore  the  spine  for  bony  abnormalities  at  all  points 
that  any  organ  receives  nerve-supply  from  the  spinal  nerves. 
Then  pass  to  the  abdomen  for  twists  or  folds  of  the  mesentery 
or  any  change  of  position  of  any  of  the  organs.  You  may  find 
abnormalities  in  form  and  place  of  the  bladder,  uterus,  bowels, 
kidneys,  liver>  spleen,  and  other  organs  below  the  diaphragm, 
that  lead  to  disease  and  death  by  strangulation  or  suspension 
of  the  fluids  of  the  meso-system,  all  the  way  from  the  tongue  to 
the  end  of  the  sacrum.  It  is  the  connective  tissue  of  the  spine 
that  directly  connects  the  omentum  and  mesentery  to  the  spine 
and  other  places  of  attachment  to  which  we  would  like  to  point 


FEVERS.  243 

the  attention  of  the  student,  because  this  connecting  tissue  is 
the  bridge  that  conducts  the  nerve-forces  to  the  great  omen- 
turn  and  mesentery,  generally,  with  their  lymphatic  vessels. 
To  the  connections  with  the  stomach,  bowels,  spleen,  and 
pancreas,  we  wish  special  attention  given,  and  every  point  of 
organic  connection,  clear  back  to  the  tonsils  and  Eustachian 
tubes  because  we  believe  that  inflammations  of  all  membranes, 
organs,  and  glands  of  the  thorax  receive  their  irritating  shock 
in  the  nerve-fibers  as  they  pass  from  the  sympathetic  and  spinal 
cord  to  the  organs,  blood,  lymph,  and  nerves  of  the  chest.  Irri- 
tation by  changes  of  temperature,  shocks,  jolts,  and  so  on  will 
set  up  contracture  and  confusion  of  the  receipt  and  discharge 
of  fluids  or  force  designed  to  be  passed  through  the  membrane 
to  and  from  any  organ  hi  the  chest.  This  perpetual  irritation 
causes  congestion,  inflammation,  and  decomposition  of  fluids, 
and  can  be  accounted  for  by  detention  in  the  lymphatics  of  the 
chest.  The  remedy  is  self -suggesting.  The  demand  for  a  per- 
fect spine  and  ribs,  with  all  their  connections  and  articulations, 
is  imperative,  because  the  intercostal  nerve-  and  blood-supply 
must  be  normal,  or  disease  will  follow  from  stagnation  of  fluids. 

SUMMER  AND  WINTER  DISEASES. 

I  think  one  of  the  best  methods  to  study  acute  diseases  Is 
by  the  seasons.  We  can  not  or  do  not  have  fall  and  winter  dis- 
eases during  the  spring  and  summer  months,  nor  spring  and 
summer  diseases  during  the  fall  and  winter  months.  We  will 
save  time  and  grow  wiser  in  comprehension  and  good  results 
by  cutting  hay  in  the  summer  and  killing  hogs  in  the  winter. 
Still  there  is  much  similarity  in  diseases  that  rage  during  the 
winter  and  spring  to  those  of  summer  and  fall.  In  the  warm 
weather  we  find  more  diseases  of  the  bowels,  liver,  kidneys,  and 
brain.  We  have  much  congestion  of  brain,  lungs,  bowels,  liver, 
and  spleen,  following  long  exposure  to  sun  heat.  We  have 


244  PHILOSOPHY   AND   PRINCIPLES   OP    OSTEOPATHY. 

very  little  summer  diseases  before  July  and  August,  when  we 
get  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  with  its  full  magnetic  powers. 
We  roast  all  day,  work  until  we  are  afire  with  sun  heat,  and 
then  throw  cold  water  into  our  stomachs,  chilling  nerve 
and  stopping  blood-action  by  contracting  arteries  and  veins. 
With  cold  drinks  much  blood  is  chilled  to  death,  and  we  then 
have  congestion  of  the  circulation  of  all  the  abdominal  organs, 
chest,  and  brain.  Then  the  fire  of  Nature  begins  to  start  up 
to  burn  up  or  cremate  its  dead  corpuscles.  We  say  "fever" 
in  place  of  "fire."  We  should  look  on  all  heat  as  electricity 
in  motion.  We  should  at  all  times,  both  winter  and  summer, 
remember  that  we  are  attending  funerals  of  dead  blood  and 
other  fluids.  We  are  undertakers,  and  not  life-makers.  The 
funeral  procession  may  have  enough  dead  corpuscles  on  its 
train  to  leave  the  camp  of  life  below  self-defense. 

Constriction  and  congestion  govern  and  modify  tempera- 
ture. Cold  universally  causes  stoppage  of  fluids  by  stricture 
of  nerves  and  muscles.  A  fever  of  any  kind  is  preceded  by 
constricture,  long  enough  to  produce  congestion  and  tumefac- 
tion about  the  neck  to  a  degree  of  irritation  of  the  motor  nerves, 
which  augments  nerve-actipn  to  the  degree  of  combustion, 
always  an  accompaniment  of  electric  action.  In  all  fevers  we 
find  the  nerves  and  muscles  of  the  neck  very  rigid,  the  blood- 
circulation  much  disturbed.  Previous  to  a  chill  we  have 
almost  complete  suspension  of  the  venous  flow  from  the  brain, 
a  temporary  paralysis  of  the  vaso-motor.  Following  this  cold 
stage,  action  sets  up  in  the  motor  nerves  of  the  arterial  circu- 
lation and  becomes  very  powerful,  throwing  the  blood  with  a 
velocity  that  indicates  great  friction  all  through  the  body  from 
center  to  surface.  Thus  we  have  cause  to  suspect  electric 
action  to  a  very  high  degree,  to  a  degree  that  would  produce 
combustion  by  friction.  On  this  foundation  ever  remember 
that  heat  and  cold  receive  their  orders  from  the  neck. 


FEVERS.  245 

PEDIGREE  OF  FEVERS. 

Typhoid  fever,  bilious  fever,  and  chronic  dysentery  all 
have  their  name.  Each  one  of  these  fevers  from  an  M.D.'s 
standpoint  has  a  pedigree  that  is  sacredly  kept  in  a  little  book 
in  the  clerk's  office.  The  name  of  this  book  is  "Symptom- 
atology." Each  one  of  these  fevers  must  have  all  the  marks 
noted  in  the  pedigree-book  or  you  are  not  safe  to  label  it.  One 
is  a  Hereford,  one  is  a  Jersey,  and  one  is  a  Polled  Angus.  Each 
one  of  these  cows  has  a  pedigree  in  which  is  described  the  size, 
weight,  age,  color,  horns,  eyes,  udders,  tails,  legs,  hoofs,  spots, 
neck,  and  all  marks  but  one,  which  is  the  chemical  cause  in  the 
blood  that  makes  the  Polled  Angus  black,  the  Hereford  red, 
and  the  Jersey  yellow.  The  little  book  does  not  tell  you  that 
the  Polled  Angus,  or  typhoid  fever  of  the  winter,  was  caused 
by  blood  being  held  too  long  below  the  diaphragm  so  that  it 
died ;  or  that  the  Jersey,  or  summer  disease,  came  from  the  same 
cause,  but  was  born  in  warm  weather,  the  blood  being  killed  in 
the  veins  of  the  abdomen.  Osteopathy  knows  this,  and  knows 
also  that  this  truth  is  not  in  the  old  time-honored  books  of  ped- 
igree. The  osteopath  should  not  spend  any  time  after  the 
patient  has  given  him  the  history  of  the  disease,  except  to  hunt 
for  the  cause,  find  it,  and  adjust  the  deformities,  then  wait  a 
few  days  and  note  effects.  If  good,  keep  on,  with  an  eye  to 
guarding  your  patient  against  strains  and  jars  that  would  cause 
bones  and  ligaments  to  fall  back  to  the  condition  that  caused 
the  disease  in  the  first  place.  Remember  that  the  same  cause 
will  produce  the  same  effect,  and  you  will  have  to  do  your  work 
over  again  unless  care  is  taken  long  enough  to  let  muscles  get 
strong  and  normal 

MOST  DREADED. 

Typhoid  fever  is  a  disease  much  dreaded  by  all,  because  it 
kills  both  young  and  old  with  equal  certainty.  It  is  dreaded 


246  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

by  the  doctor  just  as  much  or  more  so  than  by  the  patient. 
The  best  and  oldest  doctors  have  long  since  hung  out  a  written 
failure.  The  M.D.  has  used  his  best  skill.  He  has  failed  to 
cure  or  have  any  luck  to  encourage  him  in  the  thought  that 
he  is  following  a  system  that  is  trustworthy.  He,  too,  must 
change  his  tactics  or  spend  his  days  knowing  that  he  is  defeated 
in  all  engagements  with  typhoid  fever. 

TEMPERATURE. 

As  temperature  surely  has  much  or  all  to  do  with  phys- 
ical force,  we  think  a  little  reasoning  on  the  subject  would  be 
proper,  at  least  as  much  as  we  can  give  it  in  the  relations  to 
animal  life,  motion  of  blood  and  muscles.  The  blood  keeps  in 
perpetual  motion  from  and  to  the  heart  and  through  all  organs 
and  parts  of  the  body.  One  says  it  is  nerve-force  or  energy, 
and  another  says  it  is  life-force  that  moves  the  blood,  but  how 
is  this  force  generated,  and  when  and  where  is  it  made  to  act 
as  a  blood-driving  force?  How  is  blood  driven  to  the  heart 
and  returned  to  the  place  from  whence  it  started?  We  know 
it  leaves  by  the  arteries  and  returns  through  the  veins,  but  how 
do  the  arteries  drive  out  and  the  veins  drive  or  force  the  blood 
to  return  to  the  heart?  What  is  the  probable  cause  that  gives 
this  almost  perpetual  motion  of  the  fluids  of  the  body?  We 
know  by  reason  that  the  heart  contracts  at  the  center  and  forces 
the  blood  through  the  arteries  to  all  divisions  of  the  body.  Also 
we  know,  just  as  well,  that  the  veins  contract  at  the  greatest 
distance  from  the  heart  and  force  the  blood  to  return  to  the 
heart  through  the  veins  by  contraction  of  the  veins,  beginning 
at  the  capillaries  and  continuing  the  force  by  contracting  the 
whole  venous  system  from  extremity  to  center.  What  causes 
the  heart  to  forcibly  contract  and  relax  periodically?  Why 
should  the  veins  contract  at  all  or  dilate?  Is  it  a  shock  on  the 
nerves  caused  by  the  change  of  temperature  of  the  atmosphere 
that  causes  this  periodic  tightening  and  relaxing  of  the  blood- 


FEVERS.  247 

vessels?  By  periodically  contracting  and  relaxing  I  mean  the 
action  of  the  heart  and  veins  during  the  flow  of  blood.  The 
heart  contracts  for  a  time,  then  relaxes  for  a  time,  periodically. 
This  is  the  phenomenon  that  we  will  try  to  account  for  by 
atmospheric  shocks  on  the  nerves  of  the  heart  to  drive  the 
blood  out,  then  irritation  of  the  capillary  nerves  of  veins, 
causing  them  to  contract  and  return  the  blood  to  the  heart. 

Let  us  reason  that  with  man's  temperature  above  90 
degrees,  an  electric  shock  takes  place  with  the  action  of  the  air 
taken  into  the  lungs,  and  from  action  of  lungs  and  chemical 
union  of  explosive  substances  while  in  the  lungs.  Thus  an 
irritation  of  the  nerves  of  the  heart  causes  constriction  of  the 
muscles  of  the  heart  by  atmospheric  irritation  of,  first,  the 
nerves  of  the  lungs,  then  of  the  heart,  and  all  the  arterial  system 
of  nerves. 

Temperature  regulates  the  motion  of  the  universe  and  all 
bodies  therein.  Life  in  motion  is  an  effect  of  temperature  just, 
above  90  degrees  Fahrenheit.  Death  is  inaction,  a  lack  of  heat 
or  motion.  We  cease  to  move,  or  are  dead,  as  we  say.  When 
blood  gets  to  96  degrees,  an  explosive  impulse  forces  it  from 
the  heart  to  the  greatest  distance,  to  awake  a  venous  explosion 
among  the  nerves  and  cause  the  veins  to  contract  and  push 
blood  back  to  the  liver,  lungs,  and  heart  again.  Thus  by  tem- 
perature we  have  explosion  at  the  heart  to  drive  out  the  blood, 
and  at  the  capillary  ends  of  veins  and  arteries  we  get  another 
explosion  that  forces  nerves  to  contract  and  drive  the  blood 
from  the  small  veins  to  the  large,  keeping  up  perpetual  motion 
by  vital  heat  or  temperature. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Biogen. 

DEVELOPMENT  AND  PROGRESS. 

Wonders  are  daily  callers,  and  seem  to  have  been  greatly 
on  the  increase  during  the  last  century.  As  we  read  history 
we  learn  that  no  one  hundred  years  of  the  past  has  produced 
wonders  in  such  number  and  variety.  Stupid  systems  of  gov- 
ernment have  given  place  to  better  and  wiser  systems.  Ocean 
trips  have  had  months  by  sail  reduced  to  days  by  steam.  Jour- 
neys overland  that  would  require  six  months  by  horse  or  ox  are 
now  accomplished  hi  six  days  by  rail.  Our  law,  medical,  and 
other  schools  have  taken  great  strides  in  advance,  the  facilities 
for  giving  the  pupil  an  education  are  so  far  superior,  and  the 
knowledge  sought  can  be  obtained  in  less  time.  Our  schools 
are  not  intended  for  time-consumers.  Our  aim  is  to  obtain 
useful  knowledge  in  the  quickest  and  most  thorough  way  that 
it  can  be  obtained.  If  there  is  any  method  by  which  arith- 
metic can  be  taught  so  that  we  can  master  it  in  thirty  days 
instead  of  thirty  months,  let  us  have  it.  We  want  knowledge, 
and  we  are  willing  to  pay  for  it.  We  want  all  we  .pay  for,  and 
we  want  our  heads  kept  out  of  the  sausage-mill  of  time- wasting. 
A  great  question  stands  before  us :  What  are  the  possibilities 
of  still  further  improving  our  methods  of  gaining  knowledge, 
saving  time,  and  getting  greater  and  better  results?  I  am  free 
to  say  the  question  is  too  sweeping  for  me  to  give  it  an  answer, 
as  each  day  brings  a  new  problem  for  the  man  or  woman  who 
reasons  on  cause  and  gives  demonstrations  by  effects. 


BIOGEN.  249 

No  one  knows  who  the  philosopher  was  that  first  asked  the 
question,  What  is  life?  But  all  intelligent  persons  are  inter- 
ested in  the  solution  of  this  problem,  at  least  to  know  some 
tangible  reason  why  it  is  called  "life";  whether  life  is  personal, 
or  so  arranged  that  it  might  be  called  an  individualized  principle 
of  Nature. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  ACTION. 

If  life  hi  man  has  been  formed  to  suit  the  size  and  duties 
of  the  being,  if  life  has  a  living  and  separate  personage,  then  we 
should  be  governed  by  such  reasons  as  would  give  it  the  great- 
est chance  to  go  on  with  its  labors  in  the  bodies  of  man  and 
beast.  We  know  by  experience  that  a  spark  of  fire  will  start 
the  principles  of  powder  into  motion,  which,  were  it  not  stim- 
ulated by  the  positive  principle  of  Father  Nature,  which  finds 
this  germ  lying  quietly  in  the  womb  of  space,  would  be  silently 
inactive  for  all  ages,  without  being  able  to  move  or  help  itself, 
save  for  the  motor  principle  of  life  given  by  the  Father  of  all 
motion. 

Right  here  we  should  ask  the  question,  Is  action  produced 
by  electricity  put  in  motion,  or  is  it  the  active  principle  that 
comes  as  spiritual  man?  If  the  latter,  it  is  useless  to  try  or 
hope  to  know  what  life  is  in  its  minutiae.  But  we  do  know  that 
life  can  only  display  its  natural  forces  by  the  visible  action  of 
the  forms  it  produces.  If  we  inspect  man  as  a  machine,  we 
find  a  complete  building,  a  machine  that  courts  inspection  and 
criticism.  It  demands  a  full  exploration  of  all  its  parts,  with 
their  uses.  Then  the  mind  is  asked  to  find  the  connection 
between  the  physical  and  the  spirituual.  By  Nature  you  can 
reason  that  the  powers  of  life  are  arranged  to  suit  its  system  of 
motion.  If  life  is  an  individualized  personage,  as  we  might 
express  that  mysterious  something,  it  must  have  definite 
arrangements  by  which  it  can  be  united  and  act  with  matter. 


25O  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES   OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

Then  we  should  acquaint  ourselves  with  the  arrangements  of 
those  natural  connections,  the  one  or  many,  in  all  parts  of  the 
completed  being.  As  motion  is  the  first  and  only  evidence  of 
life,  by  this  thought  we  are  conducted  to  the  machinery  through 
which  life  works  to  accomplish  the  results  as  witnessed  in 
"motion." 

If  the  brain  be  that  division  in  which  force  is  generated  or 
stored,  you  must  at  all  hazards  acquaint  yourself  with  the 
structure  of  this  machine ;  trace  the  connections  from  the  brain 
to  the  heart,  from  heart  to  lungs,  and  other  organs  that  can  be 
acted  upon  by  the  brain,  whose  duty  may  be  to  construct 
the  fleshy  and  bony  parts  of  the  body.  Trace  these  connec- 
tions from  the  brain  to  the  chemical  laboratories,  and  note  the 
results  as  they  unite  and  prepare  blood  and  other  fluids  that 
are  used  in  the  economy  of  this  vital,  self-constructing  and 
self-moving  wonder  known  as  man,  wherein  life  and  matter 
unite  and  express  their  friendly  relation  one  with  the  other. 
While  this  relation  exists  we  have  the  living  man  only,  express- 
ing and  proving  the  relation  that  can  exist  between  life  and  mat- 
ter, from  the  lowest  living  atom  to  the  greatest  worlds.  They 
can  only  express  form  and  action  by  this  law.  Harmony  only 
dwells  where  obstructions  do  not  exist. 

The  osteopath  finds  here  the  field  in  which  he  can  dwell 
forever.  His  duties  as  a  philosopher  admonish  him  that  life 
and  matter  can  be  united,  and  that  that  union  cannot  con- 
tinue with  any  hindrance  to  free  and  absolute  motion.  There- 
fore his  duty  is  to  keep  away  from  the  track  all  that  will  hinder 
the  complete  passage  of  the  forces  of  the  nervous  system,  that 
by  that  power  the  blood  may  be  delivered  and  adjusted  to  keep 
the  system  in  a  normal  condition.  Here  is  your  duty.  Do  it 
well,  if  you  wish  to  succeed. 


BIOGEN.  251 

FORCES  COMBINED. 

We  see  the  form  of  each  world,  and  call  the  united  action 
biogenic  life.  All  material  bodies  have  life  terrestrial  and  all 
space  has  life,  ethereal  or  spiritual  life.  The  two,  when  united, 
form  man.  Life  terrestrial  has  motion  and  power;  the  celes- 
tial bodies  have  knowledge  or  wisdom.  Biogen  is  the  lives  of 
the  two  in  united  action,  that  give  motion  and  growth  to  all 
things.  Thus  we  have  life  terrestrial,  or  the  power  to  move, 
and  the  wisdom  from  the  celestial  to  govern  all  motions  of 
worlds  and  beings,  by  union  of  the  life  of  space  and  the  life  of 
matter.  The  force  and  wisdom  of  both  by  that  union  is  driven 
into  motion  by  temperature  from  the  ethereal  life,  to  form  and 
control  the  universe  and  all  worlds  and  beings  of  each  planet. 
If  a  seed  is  planted  in  the  earth  and  it  obeys  both  the  terrestrial 
and  the  celestial  forces,  then  the  result  is  a  tree.  A  man,  bio- 
genic force,  means  both  lives  in  united  action  to  construct  all 
bodies  in  form,  with  wisdom  to  govern  their  actions.  Thus 
endowed,  two  beings  or  worlds,  when  in  contact,  give  wisdom 
and  force  to  work  out  greater  problems  than  either  could 
accomplish  alone.  As  both  have  been  formed  by  terrestrial 
forces  aided  by  celestial  wisdom,  then  greater  results  can  be 
hoped  for,  and  in  friendly  unison  in  action  such  results  will 
appear  as  the  effects  of  that  harmonious  union  of  two  great 
causes.  Thus  biogen  or  material  life  of  the  two  obeys  the  wis- 
dom of  the  celestial  mind  or  life.  The  result  is  faultless  per- 
fection, because  the  earth-life  shows  in  material  forms  the  wis- 
dom of  the  God  of  the  celestial.  Thus  we  say  biogen  or  dual 
life,  that  life  means  eternal  reciprocity  that  permeates  all  nature. 
The  celestial  worlds  of  space  or  ether-life  give  forms  wisely  con- 
structed in  exchange  for  the  use  of  the  material  substances. 
Reciprocity  through  the  governments  of  the  celestial  and  ter- 
restrial worlds  is  ever  the  same,  and  human  life,  in  form  and 
motion,  is  the  result  of  conception  by  the  terrestrial  mother 


11  A(10'31  GO    >'  ijoo 

|0  -qp  252  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OP   OSTEOPATHY. 

from  the  celestial  father.     Thus  we  have  a  union  of  mind,  mat- 
ter, and  life,  or  man. 

To  bring  this  subject  within  the  comprehension  of  the  stu- 
dent, that  he  may  know  why  the  arterial  or  celestial  force  should 
be  brought  to  act  with  full  force  upon  the  terrestrial  or  the  sub- 
stances of  the  body,  he  has  only  to  think  for  a  moment  that 
man  contains  in  his  physical  organization  all  chemical  sub- 
stances that  belong  to  the  earth,  and  that  these  substances  are 
put  into  growing  motion,  first  by  the  living  force  or  nourish- 
ment obtained  from  the  soil.  So  far  no  growth  could  appear 
without  the  assistance  of  the  celestial,  heavenly,  or  atmos- 
pheric forces,  such  as  dews,  rains,  light,  darkness,  and  temper- 
ature to  suit  the  vital  action  of  vegetation.  He  has  only  to 
think  a  moment  to  see  that  the  laws  governing  the  growth  of 
vegetation  govern  animal  bodies  in  a  similar  way.  The  earth 
substance  has  its  biogen  peculiar  to  giving  strength  to  vegeta- 
tion, and  the  body  of  man,  which  is  composed  of  material  sub- 
stances taken  from  the  earth,  has  its  equivalent  to  the  biogen 
necessary  to  vegetable  growth.  This  biogen  is  peculiar  in  its 
nature  to  the  growth  of  animal  bodies.  The  kinds  of  substan- 
ces consumed  in  vegetable  growths  are  very  different  from  those 
used  in  the  growths  of  animal  bodies  or  forms.  The  circula- 
tion of  the  fluid  substances  is  very  similar,  both  being  obliged 
to  pass  through  arterial  channels  suited  to  the  requirements 
of  each,  so  we  see  that  the  law  of  assimilation,  appropriation, 
and  growth  is  very  much  alike.  It  is  just  as  important  for  the 
healthy  growth  of  the  tree  that  the  plentiful  supply  of  sap  and 
substances  necessary  to  the  growth  of  the  tree  should  be  undis- 
turbed, as  it  is  necessary  that  the  blood  or  sap  of  human  life 
meet  with  no  hindrances  if  successful  growth  of  a  bone  or  mus- 
cle is  to  be  expected.  Since  the  purest  of  blood  is  required  to  do 
physical  work  in  the  human  body  through  the  whole  system 
in  the  best  of  shape,  we  will  offer  as  a  substitute  some  impure 


BIOGEN.  253 

or  inferior  quality  of  blood  to  be  appropriated  in  the  economy 
of  life,  and  ask  what  can  be  expected  but  bad  results  in  all 
organs  supplied  or  fed  by  such  low  nutritious  diet.  As  a  little 
leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  loaf,  would  not  a  little  diseased 
blood  disease  the  whole  viscera?  By  way  of  illustration,  let 
us  wound  the  liver,  omentum,  pancreas,  spleen,  kidneys,  or 
bowels,  or  cause  blood  to  die  and  decompose  in  one  of  the 
organs.  Have  we  not  made  a  nucleus  for  an  increase  in  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  poisonous  blood  that  will  extend 
with  its  poisons  through  the  whole  sysetm?  If  so,  we  have  no 
other  question  to  ask.  We  know  the  cause  and  should  well 
understand  and  relieve  the  sufferer  by  opening  up  drainage, 
forwarding  the  best  of  blood  for  the  repair  of  damages  done  by 
stagnant  impurities.  To  illustrate  this  thought,  we  will  begin 
the  preparation  of  diseased  blood  by  deranging  the  colon  from 
the  rectum  through  the  descending,  sigmoid,  transverse,  and 
ascending  colon  or  the  caecum,  which  contains  the  gate  of 
exit  through  which  the  fluids  must  pass  to  keep  the  faecal  mat- 
ter in  a  soft,  digestible,  and  movable  condition.  We  will  bruise, 
poison,  ligate,  kink,  or  twist  the  colon  from  the  caecum  to  the 
descending  curve  on  the  left  side.  If  we  stop  the  blood,  we 
have  stagnation,  congestion,  fermentation,  death  of  fluids, 
and  poisonous  blood  to  be  absorbed  by  the  lymphatics  and 
other  members  of  the  secretory  family,  and  to  be  conveyed  to 
the  liver  through  the  venous  system.  This  diseased  blood 
becomes  the  nourishment  for  the  liver,  which  is  expected  to 
be  healthy  and  act  as  a  purifying  laboratory,  preparing  sub- 
stances through  purification  for  blood — the  blood  of  life,  and 
not  the  blood  of  death,  with  poisonous  impurities.  A  physiol- 
ogist with  even  a  moderate  degree  of  anatomical  knowledge 
knows  just  what  arteries  supply  the  liver  and  what  veins  keep 
the  organ  pure.  He  also  knows  just  as  well  that  the  drainage 
of  the  whole  abdomen  passes  directly  to  the  liver,  through 


254  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

which  blood  passes  on  its  journey  to  the  heart  and  lungs  for 
further  purification.  He  knows  that  diseased  blood  returned 
from  the  rectum  or  colon  becomes  poor  food  for  a  healthy  liver. 
He  knows  that  diseased  blood  from  the  bladder,  the  uterus,  or 
any  membrane  or  gland  of  the  pelvis  is  thrown  into  the  chan- 
nels and  conducted  to  the  liver  without  regard  to  its  purity. 
The  venous  system  and  the  liver  itself  must  report  and  deposit 
fluids,  good  or  bad,  in  the  liver.  The  man  of  our  school  knows, 
if  he  has  the  brains  to  be  a  successful  osteopath,  that  this  dis- 
eased blood  becomes  a  fire  to  the  hepatic  laboratory,  and  that 
fire  of  disease  circumnavigates  the  whole  system,  bone,  brain, 
nerve,  and  muscle.  Thus,  you  see,  if  the  liver  is  diseased,  the 
body  is  diseased,  and  the  cause  of  this  deadly  compound  has 
had  its  origin  hi  the  rectum,  low  down,  by  displaced  members 
of  the  abdominal  viscera.  We  see  the  process  of  generating 
poisons  by  cutting  off  or  disturbing  the  venous  flow  of  blood 
in  the  rectum  long  enough  to  allow  it  to  lose  its  vitality  and 
decompose  and  do  the  deadly  work  of  forming  poisonous  gases 
and  deposits. 

MATTER  IN  THE  ATOM. 

When  matter  is  reduced  to  its  greatest  degree  of  atomic 
fineness,  then  it  can  submit  to  any  bodily  form,  because  all  sub- 
tances  contain  in  kind  that  of  all  other  kinds  by  nature,  and 
can  easily  take  the  form  of  man,  beast,  bird,  or  reptile,  because 
this  fineness  is  equal  to  that  of  spiritual  food  or  the  motor  pow- 
ers of  life.  An  atom  is  the  limit  of  inaction,  the  point  at  which 
life  rests  hi  matter,  because  of  its  crudity.  When  matter  passes 
beyond  the  degree  of  being  atomized  farther,  then  it  is  life, 
and  it  acts  and  forms  itself  to  suit  the  body  of  any  being  or  the 
world.  When  matter  ceases  to  be  divisible,  it  then  becomes 
a  fluid  of  life  and  easily  unites  with  other  atoms,  and  is  a  mass 
or  body  of  living  matter  and  recrystallizes  into  the  form  given 


BIOGEN.  255 

by  the  parent  causes.  Thus  man's  body  is  a  form  given  by 
celestial  life  to  the  terrestrial  life  that  is  reduced  back  from  the 
living  matter  to  a  man,  world,  or  being,  with  form  of  a  being 
given  by  the  celestial  forces  acting  on  living  matter  whilst  in 
the  living  state  of  matter,  so  fine  that  the  atoms  blend  and 
become  a  unit,  or  melt  and  become  one  being  or  body  of  living 
matter,  with  quality  equal  to  all  qualities  of  life,  wisdom,  and 
material  substances,  never  to  return  to  their  original  state, 
either  as  matter  or  life.  In  man's  body  have  been  prepared 
and  united  the  two  kinds  of  life,  the  celestial  and  terrestrial, 
and  the  result  is  man  and  beast.  "All  matter,"  says  one,  "is 
living  substance."  We  know  life  only  by  the  motion  of  mate- 
rial bodies.  That  self-moving  principle  which  we  see  in  all  ani- 
mal bodies  we  call  life,  because  we  see  them  move  independent 
of  other  bodies  or  forces.  That  life  acts  and  moves  in  that 
being  of  its  own  force.  Life  is  individualized  and  has  its  limit 
of  action,  which  extends  no  further  than  the  man  or  beast  gov- 
erned by  that  individual  power  known  as  the  life  of  man  or 
beast.  Then  we  behold  a  living  body,  and  we  say,  "That  body 
is  all  alive;  every  atom  moves."  How  long  have  the  atoms 
moved  as  man,  all  united  in  form?  If  but  a  few  years  in  that 
form  of  associated  atoms,  and  the  atoms  were  living  when  they 
first  met,  how  long  have  they  been  alive,  and  when  and  how 
did  they  become  living  atoms,  or  is  life  eternally  the  same  in 
the  atoms? 

THE  MATERIAL,  AND  IMMATERIAL. 

It  matters  very  little  to  man  where  mind,  motion,  and 
matter  came  from,  the  one  place  or  the  other.  They  are  all  in 
his  make-up,  and  he  is  interested  in  keeping  them  all  healthy. 
If  he  is  a  doctor,  he  is  interested  in  quick  cures,  because  his  liv- 
ing depends  on  his  success.  The  doctor  does  not  have  to  fur- 
nish his  patients  mind,  matter,  or  motion.  His  work  is  to 
keep  the  body  adjusted  so  it  can  supply  itself  with  brain  and 


256  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

muscle ;  then  mind  and  motion  will  appear  and  keep  the  labo- 
ratory full  of  the  choicest  chemicals  and  free  from  disease. 
Healthy  organs  and  food  are  what  keeps  a  man  healthy.  The 
doctor  can  aid  in  keeping  the  organs  in  place.  This  he  can 
do  if  he  knows  the  forms  and  functionings  of  the  different  parts 
of  the  body.  If  not,  he  is  of  but  little  use  or  benefit  to  the  sick. 

THE  VISIBLE  AND  INVISIBLE. 

All  visible  matter  is  life  retired  from  labor  to  rest.  All 
motion  is  matter  in  action.  An  explosive  is  matter  at  rest,  and 
an  explosion  is  matter  in  motion ;  so  of  motion  in  man.  Life 
begins  to  unfold  by  explosions  of  lower  orders  of  material  life 
in  matter.  Thus  all  action  marks  the  amount  and  quality  of 
explosives  used  by  the  body  that  moves.  What  we  call  life  is 
matter  at  labor ;  death  is  matter  minus  explosive  ability  and  at 
rest.  The  velocity  of  the  union  of  the  two  forces  doubles  the 
explosive  powers  of  either.  Animal  life  appears  on  the  stage 
of  action.  We  see  ' '  motionless  matter,  earth,  stone,  and  on  to 
all  visible  bodies."  And  we  see  moving  matter;  we  say  "liv- 
ing matter."  When  we  see  dead  bodies  that  do  not  move,  we 
say  "dead  matter."  But  is  it  dead,  or  is  it  in  a  state  of  inac- 
tion or  rest  only,  and  waiting  its  time  to  fall  in  line  as  living 
active  matter  that  is  rested  and  ready  to  take  up  the  line  of 
march  and  give  its  energies  to  the  orders  of  Nature  ?  We  speak 
of  life,  but  know  of  it  only  as  we  see  bodies  move  by  life  back 
of  the  visible  matter.  Does  Nature  have  a  finer  matter  that 
is  invisible  and  that  moves  all  that  is  visible  to  us  ?  Life  surely 
is  a  very  finely  prepared  substance,  which  is  the  all-moving 
force  of  Nature,  or  that  force  that  moves  all  nature  from 
worlds  to  atoms.  It  seems  to  be  a  substance  that  contains  all 
the  principles  of  construction  and  motion,  with  the  power  to 
endow  that  which  it  constructs  with  the  attributes  necessary 
to  the  object  it  has  formulated  from  matter  and  sent  forth  as  a 


BIOGEN.  257 

living  being.  We  think  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  conclude  that 
life  is  matter  in  motion,  with  ability  to  carry  its  kind  and 
impart  the  same  to  other  bodies.  To  illustrate,  we  would  say 
that  smallpox  is  the  effect  of  living  matter  that  permeates  all 
systems  in  which  it  may  dwell,  and  consumes  to  partial  or  com- 
plete destruction.  The  same  law  is  true  with  other  contagious 
substances.  They  are  materials  reduced  to  the  degree  of  liv- 
ing fineness.  They  proceed  to  take  possession  of  the  human 
body  and  inflict  their  wounds  and  cause  disease  and  death. 
These  are  effects — not  of  dead  matter,  but  of  living  matter, 
that  seeks  to  live  and  destroys  organic  bodies  by  subsisting  on 
the  substances  that  should  sustain  the  life  of  man.  Thus  one 
dies  of  starvation  and  a  new  creature  lives,  takes  his  flight  in 
search  of  nourishment,  and  keeps  up  a  perpetual  journeying  as 
one  of  the  finest  principles  and  efforts  of  Nature,  which  is  mat- 
ter refined  to  the  condition  known  as  life. 

Thus  far  we  see  nothing  in  matter  but  life  at  rest.  Even 
the  human  body  that  we  see  every  day  is  matter  called  to  a 
halt  and  at  rest.  This  is  life  of  a  lower  order  submitting  to  the 
edicts  of  the  higher  life,  which  life  keeps  up  motion  by  the  com- 
bustion of  the  terrestrial  substances  within  the  body.  This 
combustion  is  conducted,  prepared,  and  brought  into  action  by 
the  refining  laboratory  that  issues  nothing  but  the  active  sub- 
stance known  as  life.  That  life  substance,  when  conducted  to 
a  higher  condition  of  unfoldment,  is  ready  to  take  its  place  and 
send  forth  the  wondrous  action  of  the  principle  known  as  mind, 
when  prepared  by  Nature  to  that  degree  of  incomprehensible 
refinement  known  as  mind,  whose  existence  feasts  and  flour- 
ishes upon  the  waters  of  the  ocean  of  universal  intelligence, 
which  speaks  and  proves  the  intelligence  of  God  as  the  wisest 
of  all  chemists,  who  has  united  the  necessary  substances  at  His 
command  to  produce  a  union  of  matter  endowed  with  action 
and  the  power  of  continuing  the  refining  process  until  mind, 


258  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

the  incomprehensible,  appears  with  man  as  the  crowning  effort 
of  the  wisdom  of  an  all-wise  chemist,  be  he  known  as  God, 
Nature,  the  Unknowable,  or  the  ever -living  Genius  of  the 
universe. 

We  have  given  a  few  thoughts  on  this  line  of  life,  hoping 
the  osteopath  will  take  up  the  subject  and  travel  a  few  miles 
farther  toward  the  fountain  of  this  great  source  of  knowledge 
and  apply  the  results  to  the  relief  and  comfort  of  the  afflicted 
who  come  for  counsel  and  advice. 

MAN  Is  ETERNAL. 

Human  life  is  eternal.  We  have  no  proof  otherwise.  Life 
enters  the  forest  of  flesh  as  man.  It  carries  constructing 
wisdom  and  ability.  It  begins  with  the  atoms  of  flesh,  adds 
by  ones  to  countless  millions,  and  carefully  adjusts  each  to  suit 
the  form  of  the  plans  and  specifications  to  make  a  physical  hab- 
itation to  suit  the  union  of  mind  and  matter.  Thus  we  see  the 
form,  material  man.  It,  man,  begins  work  as  a  wise  and  great 
builder.  It  plans  as  it  goes.  All  requirements  are  known  and 
are  well  finished  with  perfect  skill  throughout.  All  parts  fit  to 
suit  all  other  parts,  he  qualifying  and  preparing  each  atom  of 
matter  to  the  greatest  gauge  of  purity  of  each  kind,  with  forms 
to  suit  each  atom,  previous  to  being  placed  in  its  required  posi- 
tion to  harmonize  with  all  other  atoms  entering  into  the  form 
of  bone  or  muscle.  All  work  is  so  nicely  done  that  we  are  forced 
as  critics  in  the  fine  arts  to  conclude,  from  the  work  and  skill 
shown  in  man's  physical  being,  that  man  began  as  a  skillful 
life,  led  on  and  on  by  perfect  wisdom,  each  stroke  in  unison 
from  start  to  finish.  We  must  conclude  that  he  is  a  builder 
guided  by  wisdom  to  the  fullest  and  most  satisfactory  proof 
that  life  is  the  essence  of  wisdom  in  action  in  all  nature,  and 
man  is  life  and  mind  without  beginning  of  days  or  end  of  time. 
Man  could  not  be  man  and  not  be  a  wise  builder  when  he  dwells 


BIOGEN.  259 

in  worlds  of  matter  whose  powers  to  select  and  build  have  no 
limit  short  of  perfection.  He  came  to  the  forest  of  matter  a 
master  builder,  and  used  such  material  as  perfect  wisdom  only 
could  select.  In  him  we  find  no  assistance  given,  nor  was  any 
necessary.  He  alone  builded  his  own  house,  with  all  there- 
unto belonging.  Where  he  got  his  power  and  wisdom  is  the 
question  whose  correct  answer  we  do  not  know.  His  work  is 
the  silent  witness  of  his  abilities  to  do  perfect  work.  When  he 
picked  up  the  first  atom  of  matter  and  placed  it,  he  added  oth- 
ers to  countless  millions  as  his  work  progressed  to  the  finished 
man.  .  He  did  not  come  as  a  living  germ,  but  as  man,  who  was 
able  to  prove  that  he  was  master  of  matter  and  was  perfection 
as  a  building  genius,  and  only  asked  the  skeptic  to  contradict 
his  word  or  prove  that  it  was  not  true  by  bringing  forward  the 
builder  who  made  man,  if  he,  man  himself,  did  not  handle  the 
first,  last,  and  all  the  other  atoms  in  his  form.  He  borrowed 
timber  from  the  maternal  forest  and  bore  all  the  burdens  of  the 
required  labor  in  building  the  house  in  which  he  lives.  If  he 
partakes  of  the  nature  of  the  universe,  then,  by  that  quality, 
he  has  constructiveness  to  perfection  as  a  natural  quality  of  his 
animal  perfection.  Thus,  by  nature,  he  not  only  proves  to  be 
perfection  as  a  builder,  but  endowed  also  with  power  to  reason, 
to  care  for  and  conduct  his  house  of  life  and  locomotion  through 
its  journey  of  physical  union.  In  him  nothing  is  imperfect 
excepting  his  reason.  There  seems  to  be  greater  wisdom  shown 
in  his  construction  than  in  his  reasoning  powers.  We  find  him 
a  skilled  workman,  and  not  "an  atom  of  life,  a  living  germ  of 
protoplasm."  Man.  Who  made  him?  One  says,  "God  made 
him."  Another  thinks  that  if  God  had  anything  to  do  with 
man-making,  that  He,  God,  or  the  universal  law  under  which 
man  comes,  put  into  his  life-compound  the  essence  of  perfect 
constructive  ability,  which  quality  pervades  the  whole  universe 
in  the  construction  of  worlds  and  beings  of  animal  forms. 
Thus,  to  construct  wisely  is  natural  to  all  things. 


260         PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

THE  ADVENT  OF  MAN. 

No  record  shows  the  exact  time  when  man's  foot  first 
appeared  on  the  earth.  A  knowledge  of  his  advent  might  be 
profitable.  The  unwritten  history  of  the  human  races,  if  we 
had  it,  might  to  us  be  a  book  of  great  knowledge.  It  is  not  sup- 
posed that  the  mind  of  man  has  become  observingly  active  only 
in  the  last  few  centuries.  Absolute  evidence  of  purer  and 
deeper  reason  than  we  have  been  able  to  present  stands 
recorded  on  the  faces  of  many  valuable  "lost  arts"  which  we 
have  never  been  able  to  equal.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  powers  of  mind  have  also  degenerated  from  some 
cause? 

The  stock-raiser  carefully  chooses  the  best  and  most 
healthy  of  the  males  and  females  of  his  flocks  and  herds  for 
breeding  purposes,  that  their  offspring  may  be  healthy  and  well 
developed  for  the  purposes  for  which  he  raises  them.  As  a 
result,  he  raises  from  year  to  year  stock  with  marked  improve- 
ment in  form,  strength,  and  usefulness.  Should  he  be  foolish 
enough  to  kill  off  the  healthy  and  well-developed  males  as  they 
appeared  in  his  stock,  for  one  or  two  generations,  would  anyone 
with  average  intelligence  suppose  that  the  standards  would  or 
could  be  kept  up?  If  for  breeding  purposes  he  would  save 
calves,  colts,  lambs,  pigs,  goats,  or  any  other  young  males  that 
had  had  legs  frozen  off,  one  or  both  eyes  plucked  out,  necks 
and  ears  torn  by  panthers,  what  would  you  think  of  the  man's 
sanity? 

THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  WEAKEST. 

On  this  line  we  would  ask,  What  has  been  the  procedure  in 
human  life?  Has  it  not  been  to  select  the  strong  and  healthy 
males  and  drive  them  out  to  the  field  of  battle  to  destroy  a 
million  or  more  of  other  strong  men?  Our  war  of  the  sixties 
illustrates  this.  Since  that  war  closed,  the  fathers  of  our  children 
have  been  mainly  crippled,  worn-out,  and  degenerated  physical 


BIOGEN.  26l 

wrecks,  and  the  "refused,"  who,  for  lack  of  physical  ability,  were 
barred  from  entering  the  service  of  the  United  States.  Many  of 
these  physical  and  mental  wrecks  have  been  the  fathers  of 
children  born  during  the  last  thirty-five  years.  Every  healthy 
young  lady  who  married  and  became  a  mother  after  the  early 
sixties  had  to  select  a  husband  from  a  war  or  hereditary  wreck. 
From  that  degenerated  stock  of  human  beings  our  asylums  are 
filled  and  the  beams  of  the  gallows  pulled  down  by  the  weight 
of  the  bodies  of  those  mental  dwarfs.  Run  this  train  of  reason 
back  for  a  few  hundreds  or  thousands  of  years.  This  degener- 
ating force  has  been  bearing  upon  the  offspring,  and  is  it  a 
wonder  that  we  have  physical  and  mental  wrecks  all  over  the 
country? 

Now  if  we  have  been  mentally  degenerating,  killing  our 
best  men  for  a  few  thousand  years'  time,  and  still  have  a  few  left 
who  are  fairly  good  reasoners,  what  were  the  mental  powers  ages 
ago  as  compared  with  now?  They  could  think  from  native 
abih'ty;  we  only  through  acquired  ability  by  our  methods  of 
education.  Should  an  original  thinker  occasionally  appear 
from  among  the  crippled  and  maimed,  he  will  have  much  that 
is  unpleasant  to  contend  with,  unless  he  is  generous  enough 
to  credit  the  cause  to  an  effect  produced  by  the  lack  of  mental 
and  physical  forces  in  the  sires  just  described.  A  man  who  is 
able  to  reason  cannot  afford  to  wear  out  his  physical  and  mental 
forces  by  spending  time  in  tiresome  discussions  with  such  blank 
masses,  who  are  fortunate  if  they  have  intelligence  enough  to 
make  a  living  under  the  methods  that  require  the  least  mental 
action.  It  would  not  be  unwise  for  him  to  allow  a  feeling  of 
combativeness  to  arise  and  to  spend  his  forces  on  such  persons. 
Prenatal  causes  have  dropped  them  where  they  are,  and  a 
philosopher  is  sorrowful  instead  of  combative.  All  that  is  left 
for  him  to  do  is  to  trim  his  lamps  and  let  the  lights  defend 
themselves. 


262  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF    OSTEOPATHY. 

The  ancients  did  much  thinking.  Great  minds  existed  then, 
as  is  evidenced  by  the  architecture  displayed  in  the  building  of 
temples  and  pyramids.  In  philosophy,  chemistry,  and  math- 
ematics we  have  living  facts  of  their  intelligence.  In  some 
ways  we  are  equal  and  even  surpass  them,  but  in  the  establish- 
ment of  religious  and  political  governments,  national  and  tribal 
creeds,  powerful  minds  and  bodies  of  thousands  and  millions 
have  been  slain  and  their  wise  counsels  lost  by  death.  Reason 
says  that  under  the  circumstances  we  must  make  and  do  the 
best  we  can  for  our  day  and  generation. 

METHODS  OF  HEALING. 

Some  evidence  crops  out  now  and  then  that  ancient  meth- 
ods of  healing  were  natural  and  wisely  applied,  and  crowned 
with  good  results.  As  far  as  history  speaks  of  the  ancient  heal- 
ing arts,  they  were  logical,  philosophical,  good  in  results,  and 
harmless.  It  is  true  we  have  great  systems  of  chemistry  that 
are  useful  in  the  mechanical  arts,  but  they  are  very  limited  in 
their  uses  in  the  healing  arts.  In  fact,  a  great  percentage  of 
the  gray-haired  philosophers  of  the  medical  schools  unhesi- 
tatingly assert  that  the  world  would  be  better  off  without 
them.  These  conclusions  are  sent  forth  by  competent  and 
honest  investigators,  who  have  tested  all  known  combinations 
of  chemicals  and  drugs  and  carefully  observed  the  results 
attained  in  the  science  of  drugs  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  a  cen- 
tury. Let  us  call  it  "  a  trade, ' '  as  the  use  of  drugs  is  not  a  science. 
The  drug  practitioner  in  a  majority  of  cases,  when  he  adminis- 
ters drugs,  gives  one  dose  for  health  and  nine  for  the  dollar. 

As  it  becomes  necessary  to  throw  off  oppressive  govern- 
ments, it  becomes  just  as  necessary  to  throw  off  other  useless 
practices  and  customs.  Drugs  have  had  their  day.  Their  fate 
is  sealed  just  as  surely  as  the  millions  of  their  human  victims. 

Allopathy,  a  school  of  medicine  known  and  fostered  for 
these  many  years,  attempted  to  fiad  the  real  cause  and  cure  of 


BIOGEN.  263 

diseases,  but  gave  up  the  search  and  went  into  camp  and  con- 
structed temples  to  the  god  who  purged,  puked,  perspired,  opi- 
ated, and  drank  whisky  and  other  stimulants.  Allopathy  has 
destroyed  its  thousands,  ruined  nations,  established  whisky 
saloons,  opium  dens,  insane  asylums,  naked  mothers,  and  hun- 
gry babies,  and  still  cries  aloud,  and  says:  "Come  unto  me, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.  I  have  opium,  morphine,  and  whisky 
by  the  barrel.  I  am  the  god  of  all  healing  knowledge,  and  want 
to  be  so  recognized  by  people  and  statute.  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
annoyed  by  eclecticism,  homoeopathy,  Christian  science,  mas- 
sage, Swedish  movements,  nor  osteopathy.  I  do  not  like  oste- 
opathy any  better  than  I  do  a  tiger.  It  scratches  me  and  tears 
away  all  my  disciples.  I  cannot  destroy  it.  It  uses  neither 
opium  nor  whisky,  and  it  is  impossible  to  catch  it  asleep.  It 
has  scratched  our  power  out  of  seventeen  States,  and  there  is 
no  telling  where  it  will  scratch  next.  We  must  prepare  for 
more  war.  I  have  heard  from  my  scouts  that  on  osteopathy's 
flag  the  inscription  reads  thus:  'No  quarter  for  allopathy  in 
particular,  and  none  at  all  for  any  schools  of  medicine  farther 
than  surgery,  and  war  to  the  hilt  on  three-fourths  of  that  as 
practiced  in  the  present  day.  The  use  of  the  knife  in  every- 
thing and  for  everything  must  be  stopped ;  not  by  statute  law, 
but  through  a  higher  education  of  the  masses,  which  will  give 
them  more  confidence  in  Nature's  ability  to  heal.'" 

PRIMITIVE  MAN. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  Mind  that  constructed 
man  was  fully  competent  to  undertake  and  complete  the  being 
to  suit  the  purposes  for  which  he  was  designed.  After  giving 
him  physical  perfection  in  every  limb,  organ,  or  part  of  his 
body,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  at  that  time  He  gave  him 
all  the  mental  powers  necessary  for  all  purposes  during  the  life 
of  his  race.  With  perfection  in  the  physical,  it  is  supposable 


264  PHILOSOPHY  AND   PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

he  approached  very  near  to  intellectual  perfection.  Primi- 
tive man  was  a  mathematician,  not  by  collegiate  process,  but 
by  native  ability.  He  did  not  have  to  take  a  course  in  a  uni- 
versity to  study  chemistry,  because  of  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
chemist  when  he  was  born.  Possibly  he  could  speak  or  under- 
stand all  languages  spoken  by  the  human  tongue  from  the  pow- 
ers of  his  mind,  which  occupied  a  pure  and  healthy  physique. 
In  a  word,  he  was  well  made  and  fully  endowed  with  all  the 
physical  and  mental  forces  necessary  for  the  whole  journey  of 
his  life.  Now  a  question  arises,  When  did  he  begin  to  degen- 
erate physically  and  mentally?  Let  us  reason  a  little  along 
this  line.  History  is  young  and  has  had  imperfectly  recorded 
only  such  events  as  have  transpired  during  a  few  centuries,  and 
with  records  imperfectly  preserved. 

We  see  evidences  all  along  of  prehistoric  man's  life,  though 
the  being  and  his  bones  have  been  mostly  obliterated.  We 
see  close  to  his  bony  remains  the  stone  axe  and  the  flint  dart. 
We  find  acres  of  ground  in  many  places  close  to  mounds  and 
caves  with  countless  millions  of  slivers  that  have  been  scaled 
from  flints  and  formed  to  suit  war's  purposes.  Bones  found  in 
caves  and  in  buried  heaps  indicate  that  many  thousands  fell  in 
mortal  combat  here  and  there.  Possibly  they  were  old  in  the 
skilled  arts  of  war  at  that  day.  Great  and  powerful  men,  who 
should  have  been  parents  of  the  coming  generations,  were  slain 
and  destroyed,  and  the  conquered  became  the  captives  and 
slaves  of  the  conquerors,  with  all  opportunities  for  mental 
development  suppressed.  Other  nations  and  tribes  entered  the 
bloody  fields  of  battle,  and  have  nothing  to  report  excepting  the 
death  of  their  best  physically  formed  men,  leaving  the  propa- 
gation of  the  race  or  races  to  those  who  were  left  behind  as 
physically  unfit  for  battle,  owing  to  lack  of  strength  of  either 
body  or  mind. 

This  process  of  destroying  the  mentally  and  physically 
great  has  been  kept  up  to  the  limits  of  our  history's  record. 


BIOGEN.  265 

We  must  go  to  school  about  one-half  of  our  time,  in  order  to 
cultivate  and  stimulate  our  mental  energies  sufficiently  well  to 
follow  the  ordinary  business  pursuits  of  life. 

MENTAL  DWARFS. 

Without  worrying  the  patience  of  the  reader,  we  will  ask 
him  if  it  is  not  reasonable  to  believe  that  during  all  the  past 
thousands  of  years  that  men  have  fought  over  their  gods  and 
governments,  there  has  resulted  a  mental  dwarf  age?  Our  pro- 
fessional men  are  only  imitators  of  one  another.  They  spend 
many  years  in  school  because  of  a  lack  of  native  ability.  This 
is  our  condition,  and  we  must  make  the  best  we  can  of  it. 
Most  of  our  so-called  learned  men  of  to-day  stand  upon  heaps 
of  mental  rubbish.  You  seldom  see  in  an  editor's  columns  any 
evidence  of  originality  and  mental  greatness.  He  clips,  quotes, 
and  sells  his  "wisdom."  He  takes  up  some  hobby,  religious  or 
scientific.  He  lauds  his  own  religious  views.  His  scientific 
ideas  he  wishes  embalmed  for  the  use  of  future  generations. 
His  law  is  the  law.  His  medicine  is  God's  pills,  notwithstand- 
ing he  is  the  laughing-stock  of  all  who  know  him.  I  want  to  be 
good  to  these  fellows.  I  expect  to  be  good  to  them,  as  they  are 
suffering  from  the  effects  of  prenatal  causes  thrown  upon  them 
by  their  ancestors  for  thousands  of  years.  By  those  causes 
they  possibly  have  been  wounded  worse  than  I  have,  and  I  do 
not  expect  to  spend  any  time  in  combats  with  mental  dwarfs, 
be  they  political,  religious,  or  scientific  bigots.  If  I  can  suc- 
cessfully run  my  boat  over  the  riffles  of  time,  I  shall  credit  it  to 
good  luck,  not  native  ability;  for  I,  too,  feel  what  they  should — 
the  deep  plowings  of  mental  dwarfage,  the  result  of  the  slaugh- 
ter of  all  the  great  and  good  men  for  ages  before  us. 

THE  APPEARANCE  OF  (EDEMA 

(Edema  is  one  word  that  appears  at  the  first  showing  of 
life  and  death  in  animal  forms.  Previous  to  death  there  is 


266  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

a  general  swelling  of  the  system,  a  watery  swelling  of  fascia 
and  lymphatics,  even  to  those  of  nerve-fibers.  If  a  disease 
should  destroy  life  by  withholding  all  fluids,  we  can  trace  such 
cause  to  a  time  when  there  was  a  watery  swelling  of  the  centers 
of  the  nerves  of  nutrition  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cut  off  nerve- 
supply  until  sensation  ceased  to  renovate  and  keep  off  accumu- 
lating fluids  as  long  as  fermentation  did  the  work  of  heating  till 
all  fluids  had  dried  up,  and  the  channels  of  supply  had  closed 
by  adhesive  inflammation,  and  death  followed  by  the  law  of 
general  atrophy. 

To1  make  the  assertion  that  all  diseases  have  their  begin- 
ning in  oedema  may  be  wide  in  its  range,  but  we  often  find  one 
principle  ruling  over  much  territory.  Mind  is  the  supreme 
ruler  of  all  beings,  from  the  mites  of  life  to  the  monsters  of  the 
land  and  sea.  There  we  see  a  ruling  principle  without  limit. 
The  same  of  numbers.  By  heat  all  metals  melt.  Acids  must 
have  oxygen  to  make  them  solvents  of  metals.  We  only  speak 
imperfectly  of  a  few  common  laws  to  prepare  the  student  to 
think  along  the  line  of  probabilities  as  I  hold  them  out  for  con- 
sideration. Suppose  we  begin  at  the  atoms  of  fluids,  such  as 
enter  the  construction  of  animal  or  vegetable  forms,  and  have 
them  held  up  until  decomposition  begins.  In  a  delay  like  that, 
does  not  Nature  call  a  halt  and  refuse  to  obey  the  laws  of  con- 
struction and  let  all  other  supplies  pile  up  even  unto  death?  Is 
not  all  this  the  result  of  oedema?  (Edema  surely  begins  with  the 
first  tardy  atom  of  matter.  Pneumonia  begins  by  cedematous 
accumulations  of  dead  atoms,  even  to  the  death  of  the  whole 
body,  all  having  found  a  start  in  atoms  only. 

We  will  now  propound  a  few  questions  which  the  osteo- 
path should  keep  in  mind: 

Are  animal  forms  complete  as  working  machines? 

Has  Nature  furnished  man  with  powers  to  make  his  bones 
and  give  them  the  necessary  form? 


BIOGEN.  267 

Does  a  section  in  Nature's  law  provide  fastenings  to  hold 
these  to  one  another? 

How  will  this  body  move,  and  where  and  how  is  the  force 
applied? 

Where  and  how  is  this  force  obtained? 

How  is  it  generated  and  supplied  to  these  parts  of  motion? 

Whatjtnakes  these  muscles,  ligaments,  nerves,  veins,  and 
arteries? 

Are  they  self -forming,  or  has  Nature  prepared  machinery 
to  make  them? 

Does  animal  life  contain  knowledge  and  force  for  the 
construction  of  all  the  parts  of  man? 

Can  it  run  the  machine  after  it  has  finished  it? 

By  what  power  does  it  move? 

Is  there  a  blood-vessel  running  to  every  part  of  this  body 
to  supply  all  these  demands? 

If  it  has  a  battery  of  force,  where  is  it? 

What  does  it  use  for  force? 

Is  it  electricity?  If  so,  how  does  it  collect  and  use  this 
substance? 

How  does  it  convey  its  powers? 

How  does  man  keep  warm  without  a  fire? 

How  does  he  build  and  lose  flesh  all  the  time? 

Where  and  how  is  the  supply  made  and  delivered  to  proper 
places? 

How  is  it  applied  and  what  holds  it  to  its  place  when 
adjusted? 

What  makes  it  build  the  house  of  life? 

Do  demand  and  supply  govern  the  work?  If  not,  what 
does? 

Are  the  laws  of  animal  life  sufficient  to  do  all  this  work 
of  building  and  repairing  wastes  and  keeping  it  in  running 
condition? 


268         PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

If  they  are,  what  can  man  do  or  suggest  to  help  them? 

Is  this  machine  capable  of  being  run  fast  or  slow  if  need  be? 

Does  man  have  in  him  some  kind  of  chemical  laboratory 
that  can  turn  out  such  products  as  he  needs  to  fill  all  his  phys- 
ical demands? 

If  by  heat,  exercise,  or  any  other  cause  he  gets  warm, 
can  that  chemistry  cool  him  to  normal? 

If  too  cold,  can  it  warm  him?  Can  it  adjust  him  to  heat 
and  cold? 

If  so,  how  is  it  done?  Is  the  law  of  life  and  longevity  fully 
vindicated  in  man's  make-up? 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Smallpox. 

THE  HISTORY  OP  SMALLPOX. 

The  subject  of  smallpox  is  a  serious  one  for  the  minds, 
bodies,  and  pens  of  the  doctors  of  this  century,  as  it  has  been 
for  those  of  many  centuries  of  the  past,  if  records  are  true,  as 
we  believe  they  are.  We  have  learned  nothing  of  the  origin, 
nothing  of  the  action  of  the  deadly  poison  which  it  contains, 
and  when  we  sum  up  all  that  has  been  written  for  thousands  of 
years,  we  only  learn  that  the  doctor  does  not  know  what  it  is 
nor  what  it  does,  more  than  that  it  has  the  power  to  kill  the 
human  race  by  the  millions.  Judging  from  their  writings,  our 
wisest  doctors  know  nothing  more  than  does  the  savage,  so  hi 
the  twentieth  century  we  need  not  look  back  to  them  for  knowl- 
edge. The  field  is  just  as  cloudy  to-day  for  the  doctor  as  at 
any  period  of  the  remotest  days  of  man's  history,  when  he 
thought  God  had  sent  smallpox  as  one  of  His  choicest  plagues 
to  punish  the  nations  for  some  sin  of  disobedience  to  His  holy 
ordinance.  Man  has  tried  many  ways  to  stop  its  deadly  work. 
He  has  prayed,  sacrificed,  and  dosed,  but  all  to  no  effect  up  to 
the  hour  of  the  coming  in  of  the  twentieth  century.  I  think 
the  doctors  of  the  medical  schools  have  done  the  best  they  could 
to  combat  and  stop  its  eternal  fire,  where  the  "worm"  hath  not 
died  by  the  hands  of  the  most  skilled  authors  or  doctors  of  med- 
icine. The  medical  doctors,  with  all  they  know  of  cause  or 
cure,  are  just  as  afraid  of  smallpox  as  the  commons.  I  claim 
it  is  the  privilege  and  duty  of  the  American  School  of  Osteop- 


270  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

athy  to  take  a  hand  in  this  fight  and  do  what  it  can  to  stop  the 
ravages  of  the  filthy  curse,  smallpox.  Many  things  have  been 
tried,  but  all  have  failed.  Vaccination  and  inoculation  have 
both  been  well  tried,  but  the  smallpox  is  here,  there,  and  all 
over  the  earth,  and  as  defiant  to-day  as  at  the  close  of  each  day 
or  century  of  the  historic  past. 

Our  school  charter  reads:  "To  improve  on  our  present 
systems  of  surgery,  obstetrics,  and  treatment  of  diseases  gen- 
erally." I  will  confine  myself  to  that  charter.  We  claim  to 
use  any  means  that  are  better  than  any  known  method  of  the 
past,  as  used  in  surgery,  as  used  in  obstetrics,  and  the  treatment 
of  diseases  generally.  It  will  not  be  my  object  to  speak  of  the 
improvements  made  by  osteopathy  in  surgery  and  obstetrics, 
nor  in  treating  diseases  of  climate  or  diseases  of  the  different 
seasons  of  the  year,  but  to  give  my  reason  for  a  change  in  our 
method  of  treating  smallpox  and  other  contagious  diseases. 

Smallpox  is  the  most  dreadful  disease  known  to  the  human 
family.  It  has  killed  its  countless  millions,  and  has  been  a 
deadly  terror  for  thousands  of  years.  It  visits  and  slays  men, 
women,  and  children  of  all  nations,  civilized  and  savage.  It 
has  no  mercy  on  any  human.  It  lives  on  human  flesh  only; 
nothing  but  human  blood  has  been  found  or  known  that  will 
appease  its  wrath.  All  of  this  the  people  of  the  earth  have 
learned  by  sad  experience,  but  have  been  powerless  to  combat 
it.  If  we  would  prevent  the  ravages  of  the  disease,  it  is  first 
necessary  for  me  to  make  an  inquiry  into  its  nature. 

Does  the  virus,  the  seed,  or  the  substance  of  smallpox  act 
so  as  to  corrode  the  albumin,  blood,  and  fat?  Does  it  cause  the 
magnetic  battery  of  man  to  call  into  the  system  such  gases  as 
ammonia  and  phosphorus  and  set  them  on  fire  by  electricity, 
exploding  the  nitrogen  that  is  stored  so  abundantly  in  the 
cellular  system  of  the  body?  Smallpox  does  something.  What 
is  it?  Surely  some  vital  shock  causes  this  awful  confusion. 


SMAU,POX.  271 

Have  all  the  doors  of  the  excretories  been  shut?  Does  the 
introduction  of  the  germ  of  smallpox  into  the  lungs  cause  a  con- 
tracture  of  its  cellular  system,  by  means  of  which  the  virus  is 
retained  in  the  system  until  the  eruption  is  developed  ?  To  the 
writer  this  is  reasonable.  Has  not  man  gone  far  enough  with 
his  abortive  method  of  reasoning  to  halt  and  think  on  other 
lines?  We  should  learn  what  the  physical  change  is,  and  com- 
bat it  accordingly.  Do  substances,  beings,  animals,  trees,  and 
stones  throw  off  an  incubating  vitality  of  their  own?  Can 
their  life-substance  be  conveyed  to  another  body  over  a  con- 
ducting wire,  or  is  it  conveyed  by  the  atmosphere?  Is  there 
not  a  life-giving  force  common  to  all  nature,  and  when  that  force 
passes  from  a  diseased  human  to  another,  does  it  not  show  by  its 
action  that  k  is  a  living  substance? 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES. 

Do  contagions  or  contagious  diseases  come  from  seeds  of 
matter,  or  from  changes  of  the  powers  of  life,  life-activities  be- 
ing modified  by  force  of  compounds  that  have  been  driven  from 
natural  channels,  and  creating  new  or  abnormal  activities  that 
unite  substances  into  other  compounds  that  are  poisonous  to 
the  healthy  fluid  of  animal  life?  Thus  a  snake-bite  or  its  virus 
only  causes  an  explosive  shock  to  the  cells  of  different  gases, 
whose  union,  when  disturbed  by  other  additions,  causes  univer- 
sal explosion  and  spills  substances  that  are  poisonous  to  the  con- 
tents of  other  cells.  Explosion  and  death  take  place  when  union 
with  the  fluids  of  other  cells  or  different  kinds  occurs.  Not  a 
germ,  but  an  electric  condition,  shock,  or  change  in  natural 
functioning,  causes  changes  of  the  corpuscles  in  blood,  and  this 
changed  blood,  when  ejected  into  mucous  membranes,  is  mis- 
taken for  foreign  germs. 

Do  contagions  pass  from  the  diseased  person  to  the  healthy 
person  by  emigrating  bugs?  If  by  emigrating  from  one  to  the 


272  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

other,  where  do  they  camp  to  enter  this  new  physiological  field? 
Do  they  camp  or  locate  in  the  ears,  on  our  heads  or  our  backs,  or 
do  those  germs  wisely  select  the  lungs,  where  there  is  an  abund- 
ant supply  of  food,  water,  and  air?  If  each  air-cell  of  the  five 
lobes  is  a  house  that  would  accommodate  a  couple  of  germs, 
male  and  female,  which  fertilize  the  nerve-cells  with  the  seed  of 
smallpox,  how  many  houses  would  be  filled  when  all  had  an 
occupant?  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  all  contagious  dis- 
eases seek  the  lungs  to  pasture  and  deposit  their  germs. 

In  the  neck  will  be  found  the  nerves  that  rally  all  forces 
which  convey  contagious  vapors  or  seeds  into  the  air-cells  where 
the  nerve-terminals  open  the  mouths  of  secretion  and  take  up 
the  life-gases  of  smallpox  and  other  contagions  and  convey  that 
substance  to  the  nerve-cells  for  development  through  all  stages 
to  perfect  eruption  of  measles,  chickenpox,  or  any  other  rash 
on  to  smallpox.  Thus  we  see  that  the  vital  vapor  enters  the 
body  by  way  of  the  lungs,  first  entering  the  air-cells,  and  then 
being  taken  up  by  the  mouths  of  the  nerves  at  the  periphery, 
and  conveyed  to  the  nerve-cells  or  cavities  for  development  and 
general  distribution  to  the  whole  cellular  system  of  the  body, 
beginning  with  the  fascia  and  ending  with  the  skin.  I  think  by 
this  time  the  student  of  Nature  will  seek  to  know  the  cause  of 
the  great  physiological  changes  that  we  see  in  eruptive  fevers, 
such  as  smallpox,  measles,  chickenpox,  and  all  glandular  changes 
as  found  in  mumps,  typhoid  fever,  syphilis,  tuberculosis,  and 
chronic  dysentery.  I  think  I  have  pointed  out  just  how  smallpox 
and  many  other  diseases  enter  the  system  of  nutrition,  construc- 
tion, and  renovation,  leaving  deposits  in  blood-vessels,  lym- 
phatics and  the  membranous  and  cellular  systems,  whose  decom- 
position feeds  and  sustains  the  deadly  diseases  of  consumption, 
chronic  dysentery,  diphtheria,  cancer,  Bright 's  disease,  scrofula, 
and  many  others  equally  destructive.  With  the  knowledge  of 
how  and  where  the  germ  is  deposited,  how  it  is  fed  and  grows  to 


SMALLPOX.  273 

universal  occupancy  of  the  system,  we  have  but  little  to  seek, 
except  to  know  how  to  work  the  machinery  and  cause  it  to 
unload. 

Tenner,  of  the  seventeenth  century,  reasoned  that  man 
could  ward  off  the  disease  by  the  use  of  vaccine  matter,  which  is 
only  localized,  modified  smallpox.  We  feel  proud  of  his  energy 
as  shown  in  his  effort  to  modify  the  ravages  of  smallpox.  We 
know  that  his  object  was  good,  and  that  if  one  infectious  poison 
was  in  possession  of  the  body,  it  would  hold  it  immune  to  other 
infections.  I  say,  I  believe  that  his  object  was  good,  but  I  do 
believe  other  substances  will  do  the  warding  off  of  disease  by  pos- 
session just  as  well  as  or  better  than  vaccine  matter,  and  have 
no  bad  effects  follow  their  use.  I  chose  cantharides  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  vaccine,  and  I  will  give  my  reasons  for  looking  for 
something  better  than  the  vaccine  matter  that  is  taken  from 
a  sick  cow  with  an  eruption  that  appears  on  her  teats  or  bag. 
This  was  originally  taken  into  the  milkmaid's  hands  in  any 
place  that  the  skin  had  a  fresh  crack  or  broken  surface  in  which 
the  virus  could  enter  the  skin  for  development  to  the  rash. 

The  following  definition  of  "vaccine"  is  taken  from  Dun- 
glison:  "The  cowpox  is  a  disease  of  the  cow  arising  spontane- 
ously or  perhaps  from  the  smallpox  contagion  of  man,  or  from 
the  matter  of  grease  in  horses  conveyed  by  the  milkers,  which, 
if  transmitted  to  man  by  means  of  inoculation,  may  preserve 
him  from  smallpox  contagion.  The  promulgation  of  this  valu- 
able property  of  the  vaccine  virus  is  due  to  Dr.  Jenner,  who,  after 
many  experiments,  extending  over  twenty  years,  made  a  definite 
announcement  in  1798  regarding  the  nature  of  the  virus." 

In  Dunglison's  definition  he  speaks  of  spontaneous  produc- 
tion in  the  cowpox;  he  is  not  positive  that  it  is  spontaneous. 
Neither  Dr.  Jenner  nor  Dunglison  has  told  us  any  more  of  the 
origin  of  the  cowpox  than  that  it  comes  on  the  cow  spontane- 
ously, or  from  grease-heel  of  the  horse,  or  it  is  smallpox  caught 


274          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

by  inoculation  from  a  milkhand  who  had  smallpox  while  he 
handled  the  cow's  teats.  You  see,  they  are  "supposed-sos." 
They  both  guess  and  suppose  to  a  finish.  From  what  both 
have  said,  I  will  guess  that  both  have  failed  to  find  or  know  any- 
thing of  the  cause  of  the  cowpox.  Neither  have  left  any  light 
for  the  reader. 

USE  OF  VACCINE. 

Now  we  will  take  up  the  subject  of  immunity  from  small- 
pox by  the  use  of  vaccine.  I  will  not  dispute  that  smallpox 
cannot  enter  the  system  during  the  time  that  vaccine  is  acting 
on  the  system  as  an  eruptive  fever.  It  is  reasonable  to  conclude 
that  the  eruptive  fever  that  goes  with  vaccine  will  hold  the  fort 
of  life  against  any  other  eruptive  substances  and  prevent  it 
from  being  taken  up  and  receiving  vitality.  Suppose  it  will 
hold  the  system  immune  by  occupancy  until  the  system  has 
washed  itself  to  purity  from  the  old  before  a  new  virus  will  take 
effect  and  develop  to  any  rash.  Then  we  see  that  all  safety  from 
smallpox  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  system  is  full  of  cow-rot,  and 
that  there  is  no  place  for  smallpox  nor  the  rot  or  seed  of  any 
other  contagious  disease.  Cantharides  is  a  safer  preventive 
than  vaccine,  and  why?  First,  the  cow  is  subject  to  lung  dis- 
eases, tuberculosis,  and  pneumonia ;  so  much  so  that  for  safety 
from  diseased  milk  very  stringent  laws  have  been  enacted  to 
prevent  its  use.  The  cow  has  about  as  many  diseases  as  man, 
or  more:  cancer,  blackleg,  erysipelas  of  the  mouth,  pink- 
eye, and  many  other  diseases;  she  has  lockjaw,  and  she  has 
poison  in  her  system  that  will  and  does  kill  human  beings 
when  put  into  their  systems.  Then,  if  Jenner's  philosophy  is 
true,  that  one  animal  poison  while  in  the  body  will  keep  out 
others  by  occupancy,  we  should  select  from  the  species  that  are 
not  known  to  be  diseased.  We  do  know  the  cow  to  be  a  very 
much  diseased  beast,  and,  since  her  blood  has  been  inserted 


SMAU,POX.  275 

into  man's  system,  that  man's  death-ratio  from  cancer,  scrof- 
ula, and  consumption  has  asked  for  and  received  from  two  to 
four  hundred  thousand  humans  each  year  in  America  alone. 
Smallpox  doctors  have  been  in  the  Jenner  rut  since  the  year 
1798.  Jenner  reasoned  from  the  cowpox  and  the  grease-heel 
of  the  horse,  or,  as  we  say  in  America,  "scratches."  He  and 
all  the  M.D.s  of  Europe  have  been  good  men  and  have  kept 
their  feet  in  the  rut  of  tradition,  particularly  in  fighting  small- 
pox, and  as  the  English  did  in  fighting  the  Boers.  The  English- 
men fought  well  without  reason,  but  the  Boers  "licked"  them 
every  time  until  all  their  resources  were  exhausted  and  they  had 
to  submit  to  a  so-called  surrender.  What  did  the  Boers  do? 
They  moved  out  of  the  old  English  and  German  ruts  of  war, 
and  fought  and  thought  with  power  to  suit  the  occasion  and 
with  consummate  skill.  We  read  reports  of  all  their  battles, 
following  Johnny  Bull  and  the  Dutch,  with  Johnny  repeatedly 
getting  thrashed  and  sending  for  another  general,  who  would 
come  in  and  fight  just  as  the  officer  did  whom  he  succeeded. 
He  walked  out  bravely  as  a  lion,  and  also  got  whipped.  My 
blood  is  English,  Scotch,  and  German,  but  it  has  been  in  Amer- 
ica for  four  generations,  and  I  feel  free  to  say  that  I  hate  a  hen 
that  sits  on  a  nest  that  has  no  eggs  in  it  just  because  her  grand- 
mother sat  there.  If  she  sits  on  nothing  but  rotten  eggs,  what 
will  she  get  but  rotten  chickens,  like  the  rotten  virus  that  Jenner 
put  under  his  hen  of  reason  one  hundred  years  ago?  But  his 
work  was  good,  but  minus  the  reasoning  that  one  rotten  sub- 
stance was  all  the  system  could  combat  at  one  time,  and  if 
the  patient  was  kept  full  of  horse-  and  cow-rot,  that  the  seeds 
of  smallpox  could  not  push  out  the  cow-rot  and  get  possession 
of  the  system.  I  believe  we  are  on  safe  ground  to  cut  a  more 
extended  system  of  experimenting  with  smallpox  and  its  abate- 
ment by  the  cantharides  or  any  substance  that  would  create  an 
;nfectious  fever.  When  we  have  an  infectious  fever,  that  fever 


276  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

has  possession  of  the  whole  body,  and,  by  all  rules  of  reason,  will 
hold  possession  until  it  has  completed  its  work.  Then  other 
infections  may  take  possession  of  the  body  and  proceed  to  plant 
that  seed  of  another  eruptive  fever  and  hold  the  body  immune 
to  all  others.  "Stop  that!"  The  people  have  commenced  to 
say,  "Stop  that!"  for  many  hosts  are  so  uselessly  murdered 
daily  by  poisons  forced  into  their  systems  by  hypodermic 
syringes. 

JENNER'S  COMMAND  NOT  HEEDED. 

It  is  claimed  that  Jenner  commanded  the  sun  (smallpox) 
to  stand.  It  did  not  stand.  Others  before  and  since  his  day 
have  tried  cowpox  and  grease-heel  of  the  horse,  but  both  have 
failed.  Isolation  reports  a  hopeless  failure.  Pest-houses  are 
in  all  cities,  and  so  is  smallpox.  People  are  afraid  of  it.  The 
doctor  is  the  first  to  run.  It  is  a  fight  he  will  not  go  into.  He 
claims  that  it  is  better  to  run  than  to  get  whipped.  I  believe 
that  the  philosophy  of  Jenner,  the  groomsman  and  the  milk- 
maid, is  good,  but  it  gives  nothing  to  the  world  excepting  the 
accidental  cure  or  supposed  preventive  to  smallpox.  No  rea- 
son was  given  why  one  poison  would  immune  the  person  from 
another  poison.  Jenner  simply  accepted,  tried,  and  adopted 
the  supposed  remedial  powers  of  cowpox  and  sore  or  cankered 
heels  of  the  horse.  He  and  his  disciples  gave  us  no  caution  nor 
hint  that  the  grease-heel  of  the  horse  might  be  a  venereal  dis- 
ease peculiar  to  the  horse  only.  They  told  us  nothing  of  the 
cowpox,  whether  or  not  it  was  venereal  in  nature,  or  whether, 
like  the  adoption  of  most  medical  "remedies"  the  doctor  uses 
or  has  used,  it  came  to  notice  by  accident.  I  do  not  wish  in 
the  least  to  antagonize  the  effort  of  Jenner.  I  think  it  was 
good,  but  I  do  think  that  more  effective  and  less  dangerous 
substances  can  be  used  than  the  putrid  compounds  of  variola. 
I  believe  that  this  philosophy  which  I  present  can  and.  will  be 


SMALLPOX.  277 

found  as  protective  against  leprosy,  measles,  and  syphilis  as 
against  smallpox  and  other  infectious  contagions.  This  is  the 
twentieth  century.  Our  school  was  created  to  improve  on  the 
past.  Let  us  keep  step  with  the  music  of  progress. 

CREDIT  WHERE  CREDIT  Is  DUE. 

We  should  be  thankful  to  our  ancestors,  and  give  them 
credit  for  all  their  various  methods  of  combating  smallpox. 
Give  them  praise  and  love.  They  thought  that  they  had  found 
a  remedy  that  could  modify  the  death-dealing  scourge,  small- 
pox. The  popular  opinion  of  the  world  is  that  smallpox  has 
been  greatly  reduced  in  its  destruction  of  human  life  all  over 
the  world  since  the  introduction  of  vaccination  by  Jenner.  To 
him  is  due  the  credit  of  rescue  from  the  unmerciful  slaughter  of 
all  races  of  men.  That  belief  is  shared  in  and  practiced  now  by 
all  nations  and  people  on  earth.  It  is  not  my  object  to  dig  up 
his  bones  and  abuse  him.  I  believe  the  philosophy  of  fighting 
one  infection  with  another  infectious  substance  that  could  hold 
the  body  immune  by  long  and  continuous  possession  is  good 
and  was  good.  Like  any  benefactor,  he  perhaps  did  not  select 
the  best  material  to  bring  his  thoughts  to  their  best  and  most 
defiant  proofs.  Many  persons  have  died  who  have  been  vac- 
cinated with  the  blood  of  the  cow  or  horse.  Many  have  gone 
into  decay,  consumption,  cancerous  ulcers,  and  lost  both  limbs 
and  life  from  diseases  latent  in  the  cow  and  horse,  many  of  them 
supposed  to  be  syphilitic  and  gonorrhoeal.  The  cow  and  horse 
have  many  diseases  loathsome  in  effect  which,  through  lack  of 
caution,  had  not  been  seen  or  known  of  when  the  virus  was  taken 
from  the  animal  for  man 's  use  and  protection.  This  has  been 
the  danger  in  using  dead  pus  from  the  cow  and  horse  that  had 
glanders,  gleet,  farcy,  and  other  deadly  diseases.  I  think  Jen- 
ner was  right  in  his  object,  but  he  made  a  bad  choice  of  germi- 
fuge  to  ward  off  infections.  Reason  at  once  brings  us  to  con- 


278  PHILOSOPHY  AND    PRINCIPLES   OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

elude  that,  as  the  horse  and  cow  are  both  very  subject  to  many 
diseases  equally  as  dangerous  as  smallpox  itself,  to  choose  their 
blood,  let  it  decompose  and  rot,  and  then  insert  that  blood  into 
the  human  body,  would  be  dangerously  unwise,  and  it  should 
go  out  of  use  as  soon  as  a  safe  and  better  substitute  is  found. 
I  have  chosen  the  cantharides,  and  will  give  the  reasons  why 
I  have  chosen  it  as  a  better  substance  than  that  of  the  cow  or 
horse. 

DANGERS  OF  VACCINATION. 

When  we  read  of  the  diseases  to  which  the  cow  and  horse 
are  subject,  we  find  them  to  be  very  numerous.  They  are 
almost  equal  to  those  that  attack  the  human  race  in  variety, 
and  are  just  as  deadly.  Our  oldest  and  youngest  authors  all 
talk  much  about  smallpox.  They  talk  in  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew, 
Sanskrit,  German,  and  in  all  known  and  unknown  tongues 
about  the  disease  and  its  mysterious  workings;  but  when  they 
are  weighed  by  ah  American  who  only  wants  to  know  the '  'how  " 
and  "why"  of  anything,  he  is  forced  to  say  that  he  is  no  wiser 
when  he  has  read  one  thousand  authors  than  he  was  before  he 
had  read  a  single  work  on  smallpox.  They  all  talk  much,  but 
make  no  point  that  is  positively  sure  to  be  depended  on  by  him 
who  wants  an  up-to-date  truth  proven  by  the  facts  of  demon- 
stration. One  says  vaccination  immunes.  Another  says  it  does 
not.  Vaccination  may  prevent  one-half  from  the  contagion,  but 
does  not  prevent  the  virus  from  killing  thousands  with  lock- 
jaw, syphilis,  gonorrhoea,  and  syphilitic  tuberculosis.  I  would 
like  at  this  time  to  report  that  I  had  found  some  light  on  the 
mysterious  disease,  smallpox.  So  far  I  am  only  able  to  report, 
"Hold  out  your  arm  and  take  your  poison."  The  doctor  wants 
fifty  cents.  I  believe  that  if  the  fifty  cents  were  taken  out  of 
vaccination  that  the  doctor  gets  and  lives  on,  the  practice  would 
die  out.  The  doctor  knows  that  he  is  as  afraid  of  smallpox  after 


SMALLPOX.  279 

his  arm  has  been  filled  with  cow-rot  as  he  was  before.  He  fears 
that  his  immunity  will  not  stand  up  to  him  when  he  gets  in  the 
ring  and  boxes  with  smallpox. 

When  all  the  good  has  been  said  in  favor  of  vaccination, 
the  world  only  learns  that  for  years  it  has  been  a  hopeless  fail- 
ure and  so  confirmed.  If  you  go  into  towns  and  cities  where 
the  most  rigid  systems  to  compel  people  to  become  vaccinated 
exist,  you  will  find  just  as  much  smallpox  or  more  than 
where  than  has  been  no  vaccination  at  all.  To-day,  with  all 
the  police  force  and  cow-rot  that  has  been  forced  into  men, 
women,  and  children,  there  is  no  less  smallpox.  I  believe  the 
time  is  close  at  hand  when  forcible  vaccination  will  not  be  nec- 
essary, as  a  better  method,  and  one  that  will  do  the  work  and 
leave  no  bad  effects  as  hi  the  case  of  vaccination  with  the  cow, 
horse,  and  other  annual  poisons,  has  been  found.  The  dread 
of  disease  and  death  by  vaccination  causes  people  to  hesitate 
to  allow  vaccine  matter  to  be  put  into  the  arms  of  children 
and  older  persons  by  military  force.  When  they  learn  that  a 
fly  blister  as  large  as  a  fifty-cent  piece  on  the  arm  will  keep  off 
smallpox  in  all  cases,  there  will  be  no  fear  nor  trouble  about 
smallpox  or  vaccination. 

STAND  READY  FOR  THE  FIGHT. 

I  have  followed  the  history  of  the  ravages  of  smallpox  as 
presented  by  the  most  learned  historians  of  all  ages  as  far  back 
as  the  pen  of  man  has  given  any  record  of  the  malady.  All  have 
said  they  do  not  know  what  it  is  nor  how  to  stop  its  eternal 
progress,  knowing  that  it  is  in  possession  of  the  whole  globe.  I 
am  asked  by  students  and  graduates  of  the  American  School  of 
Osteopathy  what  I  would  advise  them  to  do  in  case  smallpox 
should  break  out;  would  I  advise  them  to  stand,  or  "skip  out" 
and  leave  their  patients,  many  or  few,  who  did  not  have  the 
smallpox,  to  suffer  and  die?  I  advised  them  to  agree  with  facts 


280  PHILOSOPHY   AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

already  proven :  that  smallpox  is  an  infectious  disease,  also  con- 
tagious; also  that  the  statutes  in  many  parts  of  the  world 
obliged  both  old  and  young  to  be  vaccinated  that  the  body 
might  be  disinfected,  and  force  all  houses  in  which  there  had 
been  smallpox  to  be  disinfected.  Then  the  thought  came  that 
the  laws  would  be  enforced  to  "prevent  the  spread"  of  the  dis- 
ease, and  that  vaccination  was  believed  to  be  a  reliable  disin- 
fectant to  the  body,  and  there  was  no  choice  but  to  show  an 
arm  with  marks  of  effective  vaccination  or  of  having  taken  a 
dope  of  vaccine  matter  into  the  system,  with  syphilis,  tuber- 
culosis, leprosy,  and  all  other  diseases  of  man  and  beast  which 
are  attributes  of  vaccine,  killing  nearly  a  million  each  year  from 
syphilitic  and  other  diseases  transmitted  from  diseased  persons 
and  glandered  horses  and  cattle  from  which  the  vaccine  is  taken. 
A  legal  rot,  and  legally  put  in  your  arm  and  that  of  your  wife 
and  child,  to  eat  out  your  lungs  with  syphilis  and  your  brain 
with  glanders.  I  say  to  all  sensible  persons :  Wake  up  and 
seek  a  deadly  germicide  to  smallpox,  and  when  you  find  any- 
thing better  than  the  rotten  flesh  of  the  horse  or  cow,  I  say,  use 
it,  if  you  find  it  to  be  better  than  the  old,  or  you  are  an  osteo- 
pathic  coward.  Our  school  was  chartered  and  built  to  improve 
on  the  old  theories  for  man's  good,  and  you  must  show  it  by 
your  works.  Read  the  charter  of  your  school  every  night 
before  you  go  to  bed.  It  says  "improve"  on  old  theories. 

A  few  words  on  germifuge,  which,  according  to  Dunglison, 
means  "to  expel  or  drive  away  germs;  any  agent  that  will 
destroy  germs  or  micro-organisms  or  their  spores,  on  which  con- 
tagious diseases  may  depend ;  mercury  chlorid,  iodid,  aluminium 
acetate,  sulfurous  acid,  heat  at  continuous  temperature  of  230 
degrees  and  over."  To  find  a  successful  germifuge  for  small- 
pox has  been  the  anxious  study  of  the  whole  world  for  all  time. 
Prayer  has  been  tried — no  good,  no  life  saved.  Jenner  sought 
to  insert  into  the  body  a  modified  poison  that  would  stay  in  the 


SMALLPOX.  28l 

system  as  a  perpetual  germifuge  for  smallpox.  His  idea  was 
good,  but  there  is  a  doubt  as  to  his  choice  of  substances  being 
the  best.  A  failure  of  all  systems  to  meet  and  banish  smallpox 
stands  recorded  to-day.  The  osteopath  is  in  the  contest,  and 
to  him  the  world  looks  for  light  and  hopes  for  relief  from 
smallpox. 

VICTORY  IN  A  NEW  GERMICIDE. 

A  successful  hunt  for  an  innocent  and  trustworthy  germ- 
icide for  smallpox  I  felt  confident  would  be  successful  early  in 
the  twentieth  century  if  we  would  expel  the  vaccine  and  do 
some  reasoning.  Should  an  osteopathic  doctor  come  in  con- 
tact with  a  case  of  smallpox,  with  the  rash  just  breaking  out, 
would  you  recommend  any  medicines,  palliatives  in  the  drug 
line,  in  the  treatment?  I  would  not.  His  remedies  would  be  con- 
fined to  the  nerves  of  the  excretory  system,  which  have  proven 
to  be  all  that  is  necessary.  Our  success  without  drugs  has  been 
very  satisfactory  in  all  cases  treated  and  reported.  In  all  cases 
of  smallpox  that  I  met  in  my  practice  in  the  sixties  and  treated 
with  medicine,  I  could  give  only  temporary  relief  by  opiates. 
I  then  believed  that  there  was  danger  in  stopping  the  fluids  in 
the  system  by  sedatives.  Diuretics  alone  seemed  the  best  of 
all.  Fermentation  of  fluids  seemed  to  be  the  dangerous  condi- 
tion to  be  avoided  by  a  doctor  of  medicine  or  in  any  other  sys- 
tem of  relief.  I  often  think  that  death  comes  from  poison 
absorbed  from  diseased  gases  generated  in  the  system.  When 
the  fluids  of  the  body  are  formed,  they  are  chemically  pure,  full 
of  life,  and  should  pass  out  and  on  for  uses  for  which  they  are 
designed.  No  delays  can  be  tolerated  after  they  are  prepared 
for  use.  It  is  only  reasonable  to  look  for  fermentation  of  fluids 
if  delayed  too  long  in  the  cellular  system  of  nerves,  of  fascia,  or 
other  parts  or  organs  of  the  system.  Thus  death  follows  shocks 
to  the  cellular  system  from  any  cause.  A  closing  of  cells  with 


282  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP   OSTEOPATHY 

their  fluids  holds  their  contents,  and  this  is  followed  by  fermen- 
tation. To  ferment  any  substance  will  cost  the  life  of  all  sub- 
stances that  are  fermented,  their  organic  life  as  such  giving 
place  to  the  gases  that  are  produced  by  fermentation.  Thus  a 
complete  vital  change  appears  in  all  substances  that  ferment. 
A  collapse  of  cells  comes  with  fermentation,  which  fills  cells  to 
the  point  of  rupture  and  deposits  gas  in  the  fascia  to  be  passed 
out  by  the  porous  system.  A  failure  to  exit  through  the  skin 
is  followed  by  eruptive  inflammation — thus  a  pock.  I  think 
we  can  reason  fairly  correctly  when  we  begin  with  the  lungs 
and  trace  the  poisonous  seeds,  fumes,  or  gases  of  smallpox  as 
they  are  inhaled  by  the  lungs,  taken  into  the  air-cells  of  the 
lungs,  where  the  nerve-terminals  in  the  mucous  membrane,  with 
open  mouths,  receive  and  convey  nutrition  to  the  nerve-cells 
for  their  action  and  uses.  If  the  terminals  receive  pure  food, 
good  work  will  naturally  follow ;  but  if  food  has  poisons  instead, 
then  Nature  would  not  be  true  to  itself  if  it  did  not  build  dis- 
eased conditions  of  diseased  matter.  Thus  we  know  how  and 
why  the  pock  is  builded  of  diseased  matter.  A  little  leaven 
leaveneth  the  whole  lump.  This  leaven  was  conceived  in  the 
lungs  and  became  the  champion  over  life  by  distributing  the 
leaven  through  the  whole  system  or  lump,  beginning  with  the 
air-cells  of  the  lungs  and  ending  with  the  cells  of  gas,  fat-cells, 
and  lymphatic  cells  of  the  system,  the  nerves,  blood-supply  of 
the  superficial  fascia,  and  the  cellular  system  of  blood-  and 
nerve-  supply  of  the  skin  that  covers  the  entire  body.  Thus  we 
see  a  little  yeast  has  been  magnified  and  added  to.  The  system 
has  gone  through  its  deadly  ferment. 

WHAT  SMALLPOX  DOES. 

Smallpox  does  its  deadly  work  by  closing  the  cystic  and 
lymphatic  ducts.  The  reader  will  see  that  if  a  cylinder  is  closed 
at  both  ends  whilst  that  tube  is  filled  with  animal  fluids,  death 


SMALLPOX.  283 

to  the  fluids  will  occur.  Then  fermentation  will  set  up  and 
inflate  both  tube  and  cyst,  which  will  cause  a  rupture  and  col- 
lapse of  lymphatic  ducts  and  force  the  contents  into  the  cellu- 
lar membranes  of  the  fascia,  which  form  pus  from  dead  fluids 
of  the  adjacent  region.  The  fumes  or  vital  ether,  when  inhaled 
by  the  lungs,  would  naturally  be  taken  up  as  nourishment  by 
the  nerve-terminals  of  the  lungs  and  conveyed  directly  to  the 
nerve-cells.  Thus  the  seeds  of  smallpox  are  soon  conveyed  to  the 
cells  of  the  fascia,  then  by  the  lymphatics  to  the  whole  gland- 
ular system,  so  that  the  places  of  entry  are  easily  reached  by 
the  living  virus  of  variola.  Then  its  vital  action  has  the  aid  of 
the  whole  system  of  nerves,  including  the  motor,  the  sensory, 
and  the  nutritive,  to  continue  the  process  to  completion  of  all 
the  work  from  conception  to  the  complete  smallpox.  All  this 
we  know  before  we  understand  how  to  treat  the  disease  suc- 
cessfully. If  we  know  where  the  cut-off  is,  then  we  are  at  ease 
as  to  what  to  do  to  let  out  dead  fluids,  even  after  the  eruption 
has  appeared,  and  know  how  to  do  it.  All  fluids  are  conveyed 
through  the  body  by  arteries,  veins,  lymphatics,  and  excre- 
tory and  secretory  ducts.  Let  us  take  a  case  for  reason  and 
relief — a  case  that  has  gone  on  to  the  eruptive  stage.  Can  we  do 
any  good?  Had  we  better  leave  the  patient  and  make  no  effort 
to  relieve  the  sufferer?  Before  you  can  give  an  honest  answer 
to  this  grave  question,  you  must  know  the  body  in  all  its  parts 
and  functions.  You  must  be  correct  on  the  lymphatic  and 
cellular  systems.  You  must  reason  that  the  lymphatics  must 
never  stop  action  by  closure  of  tubes.  Remember  that  a  lym- 
phatic duct  is  full  of  lymph  that  must  be  taken  to  the  nerves 
for  constructive  purposes,  and  delayed  lymph  or  chyle  in  any 
tube  or  cell  dies,  ferments,  inflames,  and  forms  pus,  which  proc- 
ess is  death  to  the  surrounding  flesh,  all  being  the  effect  of  the 
shock  given  to  the  system  from  virus  poison  taken  up  by  per- 
ipheries and  conveyed  to  the  nerve-cells.  We  should  look  out 


284  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

for  free  action  of  cellular  and  lymphatic  systems ;  we  are  com- 
bating constriction  in  all  cases  of  variola.  The  constriction  of 
nerves  and  muscles  is  the  force  that  shuts  down  circulation  and 
retains  fluids  to  deadly  decay. 

TREATMENT  OF  SMALLPOX. 

As  all  evidences  obtainable  by  human  reason  point  directly 
to  the  lungs  and  to  the  womb-like  cells  as  the  place  in  which 
the  virus  of  smallpox  deposits  its  seed  for  growth,  from  concep- 
tion to  fully  developed  smallpox,  to  combat  this  malady  suc- 
cessfully we  must  philosophize  and  select  the  nerves  that  deal 
with  sensation,  motion,  nutrition,  and  the  voluntary  and  invol- 
untary forces  of  the  lungs.  Because  of  the  demand  that  is  on 
the  excretory  nerves  to  disgorge  the  lymphatics  and  cells  of  the 
system,  the  same  nerve-cells  may  be  strengthened  by  nourishing 
food,  taken  up  by  the  peripheral  system  of  nerves  of  the  lungs 
and  conveyed  to  the  nerve-cells  of  the  lungs  and  on  to  the  whole 
system.  Then  we  have  force  to  take  up  vitality  in  place  of  the 
poisonous  compound  that  is  being  generated  by  the  deadly  fluids 
as  the  vital  fumes  of  smallpox  form  and  throw  off  and  are  tak- 
en up  by  the  absorbent  vessels.  Thus  we  have  given  Nature  a 
chance  to  strengthen  its  energies  to  purify  the  body  by  casting 
out  the  dead  substances,  after  which  nutrition  is  in  full  posses- 
sion, with  power  and  pure  material  to  repair  the  injurious  work 
following  constriction,  congestion,  inflammation,  and  pus-forma- 
tion. Let  us  examine  the  neck  carefully,  and  see  if  it  is  con- 
stricted. If  so,  we  have  a  disease  of  constriction,  and  are  war- 
ranted in  addressing  our  attention  to  the  vaso-constrictors.  We 
must  modify  that  constriction*  by  adjusting  the  bones  of  the 
neck,  that  the  famishing  nerves  may  be  quieted  by  arterial  nutri- 
tious blood.  We  must  also  address  our  attention  to  the  dilators, 
which  control  the  quantity  of  blood  that  should  or  does  pass 
through  them,  and  relieve  the  fascia  of  impacted  lymphatic 


SMALLPOX.  285 

cells  and  increase  the  circulation  of  blood  through  the  fascia  of 
the  whole  system.  Thus  we  are  applying  our  remedies  to  the 
neck,  where  the  mischief  is  being  done  by  the  abnormal  condi- 
tion of  the  vaso-constrictor  and  vaso-dilator  nerves.  As  the 
constrictor  nerves  of  the  neck  are  the  most  important  in  treating 
smallpox,  and  as  the  reason  why  has  just  been  given,  we  will 
continue  the  exploration  to  the  dorsal,  lumbar,  and  sacral 
nerves.  Give  much  attention  to  the  upper  dorsal  system  for 
the  relief  of  the  lungs  from  the  constriction  that  exists  to  a  pow- 
erful degree,  during  the  process  from  gestation  to  the  period  of 
convalescence  and  complete  recovery.  When  the  vital  fumes 
of  smallpox  are  conveyed  from  the  periphery  to  the  mater- 
nal nerve-cells  of  the  lungs,  they  cause  a  shock  by  irritation, 
which  causes  constricture  of  the  sphincter  system  of  cells, 
and  retains  this  vital  ether  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to  the 
germ  of  smallpox  nutriment  which  develops  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  this  vital  gas  to  supply  the  whole  system  with  the  yeast 
of  development  to  all  fluid  cells  from  lymph  to  chyle.  Thus 
it  is  ready  to  enter  and  proceed  successfully  with  its  deadly  war 
with  all  that  is  vital  in  the  human  system.  As  it  lives  upon 
vitality  and  must  be  deposited  in  the  most  vital  parts  of  the 
system  for  development,  we  see  as  a  result  that  it  consumes 
this  vitality  in  the  whole  system,  and  the  effect  is  what  we  call 
death.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  fact  that  if  the  excretory 
system  of  cells,  glands,  and  lymphatics  is  greatly  impeded  in 
throwing  waste  fluids  of  the  body,  accumulation  follows,  then 
fermentation,  with  inflammation  added  to  congestion  and  fer- 
mentation. By  this  time  all  the  cells  are  filled  with  dead  mat- 
ter, fluids,  and  gases.  All  glands  of  the  body  become  loaded 
with  inflamed  fluids  and  are  burning  with  fever;  then  all  lym- 
phatics and  nerves  of  the  superficial  fascia  and  its  blood-vessels 
and  porous  systems  are  overcome  by  irritation  and  pressure  by 
the  bulky  deposits  in  the  superficial  fascia;  then  follows  the 


286          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

preparation  to  get  this  dead  pus  out  of  the  fascia.  To  do  this, 
the  excretory  ducts  must  be  enlarged.  Boils  form  in  the  skin 
and  rot  out  holes  to  drain  the  fascia  where  the  great  mischief  of 
smallpox  is  done. 

GOOD  NURSING. 

After  the  rash  appears,  the  doctor  can  do  but  little  more 
than  nurse,  feed,  and  look  to  comfortable  rooms,  dress  boils, 
and  such  other  work  as  the  condition  may  suggest  to  his  judg- 
ment and  experience.  Look  after  the  nerves  of  motion  of  the 
lower  dorsal,  the  nerves  of  the  neck,  and  also  the  lumbar  nerves. 
The  renal  nerves  keep  the  veins  free  to  drain  in  fullest  flow. 
Let  the  patient  smell  for  a  few  full  breaths  a  handkerchief  with 
ten  or  twelve  drops  of  cantharidin.  Never  take  more  than 
three  full  breaths  from  the  handkerchief  at  a  tune,  and  not 
oftener  than  twice  a  day,  and  not  more  than  three  days  in  suc- 
cession, for  fear  of  irritating  the  lungs  too  much  by  the  canthar- 
ides  that  is  in  the  tincture.  A  few  breaths  of  tincture  of  can- 
tharidin dropped  on  a  handkerchief  will  act  on  the  breath  and 
start  the  kidneys  to  active  draining,  and  also  cause  the  lym- 
phatics of  the  fascia  to  throw  out  their  contents.  Before  the 
doctor  of  osteopathy  enters  a  room  of  smallpox,  he  must  take 
time  to  allow  a  blister  as  large  as  a  dollar  to  draw  on  the  out- 
side of  his  arm  about  three  inches  above  the  elbow.  I  would 
not  have  any  fear  of  even  confluent  smallpox  after  my  arm  had 
a  well-drawn  blister.  It  will  hold  you  immune  to  all  danger. 
I  believe  I  am  perfectly  safe  in  so  advising  osteopaths — or  all 
people,  for  that  matter.  Why  does  man  take  smallpox,  and 
why  is  his  dog  immune  to  the  disease,  both  having  been  exposed 
at  the  same  time?  Because  all  animals  below  the  man  have 
musks  of  immunity  that  are  more  powerful  ttian  the  fumes 
or  germs  of  smallpox,  measles,  mumps,  cholera,  yellow  fever, 
and  so  on  to  the  general  list  of  human  ills.  Nature  has  fur- 


SMALLPOX.  287 

nished  the  flesh-eating  birds,  animals,  and  reptiles  with  protect- 
ive musks  or  germifuge.  Many  can  be  smelled  one  mile  or 
more.  Any  wild  beast  or  bird  can  eat  the  most  putrid  flesh 
of  the  dead  mad-dog,  smallpox,  or  leper  with  perfect  safety. 
They  would  be  failures  in  nature  if  they  would  take  smallpox 
or  hydrophobia  and  get  wild  and  die.  We  would  soon  be  with- 
out the  buzzard  or  any  other  scavenger  to  clean  the  earth  of 
putrescence.  But,  as  man's  germicidal  powers  cannot  resist 
the  smallpox,  he  must  try  to  arm  himself  with  an  artificial  sub- 
stitute, which  I  believe  we  can  do  and  have  done  with  wonder- 
ful success  in  the  use  of  the  cantharidin  as  now  reported  in 
hundreds  of  cases.  It  creates  an  infectious  fever  that  is  inno- 
cent in  after-effects,  and  will  hold  full  possession  of  the  body 
and  defend  it  from  all  other  infections  whilst  it  has  possession, 
and  be  a  perfect  immunity  to  smallpox  at  last. 

I  believe  all  immunities  are  based  on  the  philosophy  or  law 
of  possession.  "Possession  is  nine  points  of  the  law,"  and  is 
just  as  good  hi  contagious  infections  as  in  governments  or  any 
forceful  possession  of  property  or  power. 

AN  APPLICATION  OF  THIS  PRINCIPLE. 
If  you  have  measles  hi  your  body,  it  will  hold  the  body  and 
defy  all  contagions  to  enter  while  it  has  possession.  We  have 
no  report  from  history  of  any  person  taking  the  mumps,  meas- 
les, chicken-pox,  or  any  contagion  during  the  time  that  small- 
pox has  possession  of  the  body  and  is  doing  its  work  as  an 
infectious  disease.  I  believe  we  have  a  reasonable  philosophy 
in  the  use  of  cantharidin.  Start  an  infectious  and  innocent 
fever  that  will  defy  the  entry  of  variolus  poisons  and  hold 
man,  woman,  and  child  perfctly  safe  amidst  smallpox,  mumps, 
measles,  and  other  contagions.  This  treatise  of  the  subject  of 
smallpox  is  given  for  you  to  ponder  on  it.  I  believe  the  days 
of  smallpox  are  numbered  hi  the  minds  of  osteopaths  who  can 
and  do  reason. 


288  PHILOSOPHY  AND   PRINCIPLES   OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

MEASLES., 

Let  me  ask,  What  is  the  measles?  How  does  it  get  in  and 
out  of  the  body?  Well,  it  is  some  kind  of  poison  that  comes 
out  of  the  lungs  of  another  person,  who  has  poison  in  his  system 
that  has  gotten  strong  enough  to  poison  two  people.  That 
poisoned  air  was  breathed  from  No.  i  by  No.  2.  When  the 
poisoned  air  was  taken  into  the  lungs  of  No.  2,  the  nerve- 
terminals  of  the  lungs  took  in  the  poison  by  the  periphery  and 
carried  it  to  the  nerve-cells.  Then  the  work  of  growth  of  the 
poison  began  in  the  cells,  and,  multiplying,  carried  on  its  poison 
to  the  nerve-cells  of  the  lymphatics  of  the  deep  and  superficial 
fascia,  which  did  the  rest  of  the  work  by  fermentation. 

If  disease  is  so  highly  attenuated,  so  ethereal,  and  pene- 
trable in  quality,  and  multiple  in  atoms,  and  a  breath  of  air,  two 
quarts  or  more,  are  taken  into  the  lungs  fully  charged  with  con- 
tagion, how  many  thousand  air-cells  could  be  impregnated  by 
one  single  breath  ?  Say  we  take  a  case  of  measles  into  a  school- 
room of  sixty  pupils,  in  a  warm  and  poorly  oxygenized  atmos- 
phere all  day,  would  not  the  living  gas  thrown  off  from  active 
measles  enter  and  irritate  the  air-cells  and  close  the  most  irri- 
table cells  with  the  poisonous  gas  retained  for  active  devel- 
opment in  those  womb-like  departments  in  the  lungs? 

Now  you  have  the  seeds  in  thousands  of  cells,  which  are  as 
vital  and  well  supplied  by  nerves  and  blood  as  the  womb  itself. 
Would  not  reason  see  the  development  of  millions  more  of  the 
vital  beings  who  get  their  nourishment  from  the  vitality  found 
in  the  human  fascia,  which  comes  nearer  to  the  surface  in  the 
lungs  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  system,  except  it  be  the 
womb? 

In  proof  of  the  certainty  of  measles  being  taken  up  by  the 
lungs  at  one  breath  and  caught  by  the  secretions  and  conveyed 
to  the  universal  system  of  fascia  to  develop  the  contagion,  I  will 
give  the  case  of  one  of  my  boys  who  was  sick  with  a  cold,  as  I 


SMALLPOX.  289 

supposed.  The  symptoms  were  watering  of  eyes,  cough,  fever, 
and  headache.  He  was  in  the  country  about  eight  miles  from 
home,  and  on  our  return  he  stopped  to  get  his  books  at  a  small 
school-house.  He  ran  in,  picked  up  his  books  that  were  lying 
upon  the  desk,  walked  the  length  of  the  room,  which  was  about 
forty  feet,  was  not  there  over  half  a  minute,  and  in  just  nine  days 
forty- two  children  broke  out  with  measles.  So  certain  is  con- 
tagion to  be  taken  up  by  the  nerves  and  vitalizing  fluids  of  the 
fascia. 

It  seems  that  all  the  fascia  needs  to  develop  anything  is  to 
have  the  substance  planted  in  its  arms  for  construction;  the 
work  will  be  done,  labeled,  and  handed  out  for  inspection  by 
the  inspectors  of  all  works. 

A  COMPARISON. 

In  smallpox  the  motor  energy  must  be  equal  to  the  force 
that  would  convey  albumin  through  all  tissues.  In  measles  it 
would  be  less,  and  so  on  according  to  the  thickness  of  the  fluids 
present.  The  power  to  drive  dead  fluids  from  fascia  must  be 
much  greater  in  smallpox  than  in  cases  of  measles.  We  see 
why  the  pulse  of  smallpox  is  so  powerful  during  development 
of  the  pox.  After  killing  the  fluids  by  retention  in  the  fascia  of 
the  skin,  a  still  greater  force  is  created  by  injury  to  the  nerve- 
fibers  of  the  fascia.  Then  the  motor  energy  appears,  and  all 
the  powers  of  life  combine  to  help  the  arteries  force  the  fluids 
through  the  skin  and  push  them  to  the  fascia  of  the  skin  to  be 
eliminated.  In  some  parts  elimination  fails;  such  places  are 
called  pocks.  They  suppurate  and  drop  out,  leaving  a  pit,  the 
pock-mark.  Now  had  the  nerves  of  the  skin  and  fascia  not  been 
irritated,  contracting  the  skin  m  opposition  to  the  fascia  pass- 
ing its  dead  fluids  through  the  excretory  ducts  of  the  skin,  we 
probably  would  have  had  no  eruption.  Is  it  not  quite  reason- 
able to  conclude  that  after  the  heart  overloads  the  fascia  and 
the  nerves  lose  their  control  by  pressure  of  fluids,  all  that  is 


2QO  PHILOSOPHY   AND   PRINCIPLES   OF    OSTEOPATHY. 

left  is  chemical  action  to  the  production  of  pus,  which  throws 
it  out  of  the  fascia  in  intervening  spaces?  Then,  should  the  fas- 
cia have  greater  destruction  of  its  substances,  we  have  one  spot 
running  into  others,  and  we  have  "confluent  smallpox." 

SCARLET  FEVER. 

As  defined  by  allopathy:  "Scarlet  fever  begins  with  a 
short  period  of  tired  feeling.  A  short  period  of  chilly  sensation, 
fullness  of  eyes,  and  sore  throat.  In  a  few  hours  fever  begins 
with  great  heat  in  back  of  head.  It  soon  extends  all  over  the 
body.  Sick  stomach  and  vomiting  generally  accompany  the  dis- 
ease. Rash  of  a  red  color  begins  on  the  back,  and  extends  to 
the  throat  and  limbs.  About  the  second  or  third  day  the  fever  is 
very  high,  from  100°  to  104°,  and  generally  lasts  to  the  fifth  or 
seventh  day,  at  which  time  fever  begins  to  diminish,  with  itch- 
ing over  the  body.  The  skin  at  this  time  throws  off  all  the 
dead  scales  that  had  been  red  rash  in  the  fore  part  of  the  dis- 
ease. Often  the  lining  membranes  of  the  mouth,  throat,  and 
tonsils  slough  and  bleed.  Also  pus  is  often  formed  just  under 
the  skin  in  front  of  the  throat.  Such  cases  usually  die."  The 
latter  is  very  true  if  treated  by  a  drug  practitioner. 

Scarlet  fever,  as  defined  by  osteopathy,  is  a  disease  gener- 
ally of  the  early  spring  and  late  fall  seasons.  Generally  it  comes 
with  cold  and  damp  weather  during  east  winds.  It  begins 
with  sore  throat,  chilly  and  tired  feelings,  followed  with  head- 
ache and  vomiting.  In  a  few  hours  the  chilly  feeling  leaves 
and  a  high  fever  sets  in.  The  patient  is  rounded  in  chest,  abdo- 
men, face,  and  limbs  by  congestion  of  the  fascia  and  all  of  the 
lymphatic  glands.  This  stagnation  will  soon  begin  its  work  of 
fermentation  of  the  fluids  of  fascia,  then  you  see  the  rash.  If  you 
do  not  want  to  see  the  rash  and  sloughing  of  throat,  with  a  dead 
patient,  I  would  advise  you  to  train  your  guns  on  the  blood, 
nerves,  and  lymphatics  of  the  fascia  and  stop  the  cause  at  once, 
or  quit. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Obesity. 

WHEN  REASON  BEGINS. 

When  we  eat  and  drink,  we  do  so  because  we  get  hungry. 
We  do  that  for  many  years  before  we  try  to  reason  why  we 
grow  from  small  to  large-sized  bodies,  of  bone  and  muscle.  We 
get  too  fat  or  too  lean,  we  gain  or  lose  in  flesh.  We  are  some- 
times with  tolerably  good  strength,  but  usually  strength  is  lost. 
We  know  we  are  not  what  we  have  been;  we  are  much  larger, 
but  have  little  strength.  So  much  we  know  and  stop.  We  are 
fat  or  lean,  but  we  do  not  know  why.  We  eat  and  drink  about 
the  same  kind  of  diet.  Now  we  want  to  lose  the  surplus  fat, 
or  add  enough  to  get  back  to  our  old  standard  of  size  and 
strength. 

A  DYSPEPTIC  CONDITION. 

In  trying  to  reason  on  the  cause  of  these  conditions,  7  am 
forced,  in  conclusion,  to  believe  that  these  deposits  of  fat  are 
the  effect  of  a  dyspeptic  condition  of  the  nerves  of  nutrition  of 
the  fascia,  which  should  consume  such  fluids,  and  digest  and 
appropriate  the  same  to  the  energies  and  strength  of  the  body. 
That  failure  to  take  up,  digest,  and  use  as  fast  as  the  supplies 
come  is  the  cause  of  the  filling  up  of  oily  fluids  in  the  spongy 
tissues  under  the  skin  and  through  the  body.  I  believe  the 
maternal  process  is  cut  off  from  the  spinal  cord  at  the  place 
where  such  energies  issue  from  the  cord.  We  must  learn  just 
where  such  interference  is  located,  and  treat  for  the  renewal  of 


292  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

the  forces ;  then  we  can  reasonably  hope  to  see  the  fat  consumed 
and  corpulency  reduced  by  the  process  of  normal  consumption. 
Now  we  have  arrived  at  the  point  to  locate  and  establish 
our  observations.  We  want  a  clear  and  unobstructed  view  of 
the  subject  that  we  are  about  to  explore,  that  we  may  arrive 
at  a  satisfactory  and  philosophical  conclusion.  We  must  have 
facts  to  build  upon  or  our  foundation  will  surely  give  way. 
We  must  have  two  persons  of  unnatural  conditions,  the  one 
abnormally  fat,  the  other  abnormally  lean.  One  is  too  great 
in  size,  the  other  with  a  very  dwarfed  condition  of  the  whole 
system.  The  first  thing  necessary  to  a  foundation  to  a  philo- 
sophical observatory  is  knowledge  on  the  "hows"  and  "whys" 
of  animal  construction ;  of  supplies,  how  consumed  and  appro- 
priated, and  what  dispositon  is  made  of  this  material  after 
being  appropriated.  We  should  carefully  inspect  the  machin- 
ery of  digestion,  the  machinery  of  construction,  the  machinery 
of  renovation,  and  must  thoroughly  know  these  three  proc- 
esses. Then  we  are  confronted  with  the  question,  Why  is  it 
that  two  persons  eating  at  the  same  table,  one  will  take  up  and 
deposit  flesh-making  substances  to  burdensome  abnormality, 
while  the  other  takes  on  no  flesh  at  all.  Is  not  this  surplus 
amount  of  fat  an  evidence  of  a  dyspeptic  condition  of  the  nerves 
of  force  and  action?  Have  not  the  nerves  failed  to  drink  this 
fatty  fluid  and  convert  it  into  motor  energy,  and  when  done 
with  such  substances,  to  convert  them  into  gaseous  fluids  and 
expel  them  from  the  body?  Certainly  the  far-reaching  tele- 
scope of  a  well-trained  philosopher  can  readily  behold  the  cause, 
and  he  can  form  his  conclusion  that  both  variations  are  dyspep- 
tics The  one  should  be  treated  to  take  up  more  of  the  sub- 
stances, and  the  other  should  be  treated  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
cause  him  to  burn  up  hi  the  furnace  of  life  all  fuel  sent  there  by 
Nature  to  keep  it  hot  and  in  motion.  Now  we  are  ready  to 
apply  and  exhibit  with  judgment  the  skill  of  a  physiological 


OBESITY.  293 

engineer.  If  we  understand  the  physiological  processes  of  the 
preparation  of  substances,  which  when  prepared  are  taken  up 
and  delivered  to  their  proper  places,  and  if  we  understand  when 
those  substances  have  supplied  the  natural  energies  and  when 
they  are  placed  into  excretory  ducts  and  carried  away,  then  we 
are  on  the  right  line  of  reason,  as  engineers  of  the  human  body, 
to  keep  down  unnatural  deposits. 

SUPPLY  AND  DEMAND. 

As  we  proceed  with  our  mental  labor  in  discussion  of  why 
the  system  does  not  use  the  fat-substances  as  fast  as  delivered, 
we  will  be  wise  to  confine  our  mental  powers  more  carefully  to 
inspect  for  better  acquaintance  just  what  power  at  the  place 
of  delivery  fails  to  work  up  the  fluid  before  it  hardens  to  the 
degree  of  flesh.  As  we  reason,  such  questions  as  these  natu- 
rally arise :  Do  the  nerves  of  the  fascia  have  anything  to  do  in 
constructing  muscle  or  any  other  physical  forms?  If  so,  do 
they  connect  directly  with  the  spinal  cord?  Do  they  become 
obstructed  so  as  to  suspend  their  functional  action?  How 
much  suspension  of  nerve-power  will  drop  life  so  low  that  it  will 
not  receive,  prepare,  and  appropriate  this  fat-substance  and 
prevent  bulky  accumulation?  Then  another  question:  How 
low  a  degree  of  nerve-vibration  marks  or  would  mark  on  the 
scale  of  nerve-action  just  when  the  body  can  no  longer  receive 
this  crude  material  and  go  on  with  its  process  of  taking  up, 
digesting,  and  qualifying  this  fluid  to  enter  the  higher  degrees 
of  functional  action?  The  doctors  of  past  ages  have  been  fail- 
ures because  of  their  inability  or  simple  failure  to  prosecute  an 
acquaintance  with  the  functions  of  physical  action  along  the 
line  which  the  foregoing  has  indicated.  If  you  have  given 
close  attention  and  made  yourself  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
anatomy,  physiology,  and  the  suggestions  they  present,  you 
will  need  no  further  explanation  to  know  the  cause  and  cure  of 
obesity  and  atrophy. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Ear-Wax  and  Its  Uses. 

NATURE  MAKES  NOTHING  IN  VAIN. 

That  Nature  makes  nothing  in  vain  is  an  established  truth 
in  the  minds  of  all  persons  whose  observation  has  created  in 
them  a  desire  to  reason.  That  having  been  my  faith  for  many 
years,  I  tried  to  discover  why  Nature  had  made  and  placed  in 
man's  head  so  much  fine  machinery  just  to  make  a  little  ear- 
wax.  If  "nothing  is  made  in  vain,"  what  is  that  bitter  stuff 
made  for?  It  is  always  there.  I  have  read  many  authors  on 
ear-wax,  and  about  the  best  the  wise  or  unwise  have  said  is  that 
it  would  keep  bugs  and  other  insects  out  of  our  heads.  I  thought 
if  that  was  all  that  it  was  made  for,  that  Nature  had  done  a 
great  deal  to  "shoo"  off  the  bugs.  The  idea  that  it  was  made 
bitter  to  the  taste  just  to  make  bugs  sick  was,  in  my  opinion,  a 
weak  philosophy,  if  Nature  has  never  done  any  useless  work  or 
made  anything  in  vain.  At  this  time  I  saw  the  doors  open  and 
a  good  chance  for  the  loaded  mind  to  become  unloaded  and 
give  us  other  uses  for  ear-wax  than  as  a  bug  food  and  a  lubri- 
cant for  auditory  nerves.  In  my  search  to  find  some  more  rea- 
sonable use  or  object  that  Nature  had  in  forming  so  much  deli- 
cate machinery  for  this  product,  I  reasoned  that  this  dry,  hard 
wax  was  once  in  a  gaseous  or  fluid  state. 

I  had,  previous  to  this,  about  concluded  to  sit  down  with 
the  rest  of  the  doctors  and  say  that  wax  was  wax,  when  I  was 
called  to  attend  a  fat  boy  of  two  summers  who  was  reported 
to  me  to  be  dying  with  croup.  I  began  to  think  more  about 


EAR-WAX  AND  ITS  USES.  295 

the  dry  wax  that  is  always  found  in  cases  of  croup,  sore  throat, 
tonsillitis,  pneumonia,  and  all  diseases  of  the  lungs,  nose,  and 
head.  On  examination,  I  found  the  ear-wax  dried  up.  So  I 
put  a  few  drops  of  glycerine,  and  after  a  minute's  tune  a  few 
drops  of  warm  water,  in  the  child's  head,  and  kept  a  wet  rag 
corked  into  its  ear  at  intervals  for  twelve  hours,  and  gave  it 
osteopathic  treatment.  At  the  end  of  twelve  hours  all  signs  of 
croup  had  disappeared.  To  soften  the  wax,  I  used  the  glycer- 
ine, which,  combining  with  the  water,  formed  a  harmless  soap, 
better  qualified  for  washing  the  ear  and  retaining  the  wax  in 
solution  than  anything  I  have  tried;  for  it  is  my  opinion  that 
the  ear-wax  should  be  kept  in  a  fluid  state.  When  in  that  state, 
the  cells  can  more  readily  take  it  up  and  use  it  in  the  economy 
of  life. 

AN  EXPERIMENT. 

The  same  day  two  ladies  came  to  my  house,  sore  hi  lungs, 
necks  tied  up,  sore  throats,  fevers,  and  headache.  As  an  exper- 
iment, in  addition  to  osteopathic  treatment,  I  put  a  few  drops 
of  glycerine  into  their  ears,  and  followed  it  with  water  with 
which  to  soften  and  moisten  the  wax,  which  was  hard  and  dry. 
Both  were  relieved  of  their  sore  lungs  and  throats  in  a  short 
time,  and  hi  twenty-four  hours  they  were  about  well,  and  the 
lungs  were  coughing  out  phlegm  easily. 

From  this  I  think  that  the  cause  of  croup  is  largely  the 
result  of  abnormality  of  the  cerumen  system.  As  the  question 
of  the  uses  of  ear-wax  has  been  before  man  for  ages  without  an 
answer  given  that  passes  the  line  of  conjecture,  I  think  there 
can  be  no  reason  why  a  few  looks  through  the  field-glass  of 
inquiry  should  not  be  given  in  a  limited  way  on  that  great  plane 
of  fertility.  As  far  as  the  writer  can  learn  from  reading  and 
from  other  methods  of  inquiry,  the  power  and  use  of  ear-wax 
has  never  been  known,  looked  for,  or  thought  of  as  one  of  life's 


296  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

agents  for  good  or  bad  health.  Some  one  asks  this  question, 
"Why  are  you  talking  about  ear-wax — the  filthy  stuff?"  In 
answer,  I  ask,  "What  do  you  know  about  ear-wax?"  The  an- 
swer comes,  "I  don't  know  or  care  anything  about  the  stuff." 
As  my  spleen  is  my  organ  of  mirth,  I  let  it  bounce  against  my 
side  a  few  times  at  such  ignorance,  and  decide  to  give  the  wax 
subject  more  study  than  ever.  I  began  to  read  all  the  books  I 
could  find  on  anatomy,  physiology,  and  histology,  for  knowl- 
edge of  the  machinery  that  the  wise  Architect  of  that  greatest 
of  all  temples  had  made  to  generate  wax.  A  conviction  came 
to  me  to  be  sure  of  its  uses  before  I  gave  an  opinion.  We  find 
the  center  of  nerve-supply  of  the  ears  located  at  the  base  of  the 
brain  and  side  of  the  head,  in  front  of  the  cerebellum,  just  below 
and  near  the  center  of  the  brain,  a  little  above  the  foramen 
magnum,  close  to  and  behind  the  carotid  arteries,  deep  and 
superficial,  just  above  the  entry  of  the  spinal  cord  to  the  brain. 
Thus  it  is  situated  directly  in  communication  with  all  nerves  to 
and  from  the  brain  to  every  part  of  the  body.  Another  ques- 
tion came,  and  another,  only  to  come  and  go  without  an  answer, 
such  as :  How  and  where  is  this  wax  made  ?  Of  what  use  is  it? 
Why  so  bitter?  Has  it  any  living  principle?  Is  it  produced 
in  the  brain,  lymphatics,  fascia,  heart,  lungs,  nerves,  or  where? 
How  much  of  it  would  kill  a  man?  Would  it  kill  at  all?  What 
is  it  made  for  ?  Is  it  used  by  the  nerves  as  food,  or  used  by  lungs, 
heart,  or  any  organ  as  an  active  principle  in  the  magnetic  or 
electric  forces?  So  far  all  authors  are  silent,  not  even  offering 
a  speculative  opinion  on  how  it  is  made  and  its  uses.  So  far 
we  have  received  nothing  that  would  cause  a  man  to  think  that 
the  Creator  had  any  great  design  when  He  made  so  wisely  con- 
structed machinery  and  gave  it  such  a  prominent  place. 

MAKE  HASTE  SLOWLY. 

By  this  time  the  reader  begins  to  mentally  ask,  "What 
does  this  wax  evangelist  know  about  the  wax  and  its  uses?"     I 


EAR-WAX  AND  ITS  USES.  297 

wish  to  observe  and  respect  all  nature,  and  never  be  too  hasty. 
My  aim  is  to  carefully  explore  all,  and  never  leave  until  I  find 
the  cause  and  use  that  Nature's  hand  has  placed  in  its  work- 
ings, never  overlooking  small  packages,  as  they  often  contain 
precious  gems.  I  am  sure  no  man  of  brilliant  mind  can  pass 
this  milepost  and  not  hitch  his  team  and  do  some  precious  load- 
ing. At  this  point  my  pen  will  give  notice  to  all  anatomists, 
histologists,  chemists,  and  physiologists,  that  I  will  give  "no 
sleep  or  slumber  to  their  eyes  "  until  I  hear  from  them  an  an 
swer,  yes  or  no,  to  these  questions:  For  what  purpose  did 
God  make  ear-wax?  Is  it  food  or  refuse?  If  food,  what  is  nour- 
ished by  it  ?  And  how  do  you  know  your  position  is  true  and 
undebatable  ? 

Life  means  existence.  Existence  means  subsistence.  Sub- 
sistence means  something  to  subsist  upon,  and  of  the  degree  of 
refinement  to  suit  the  skilled  work  which  is  found  marked  on 
the  trestleboard  of  the  wisest  of  all  builders,  Whose  work  is 
absolutely  correct  in  form  and  action,  and  beautiful  to  behold. 
It  calls  out  the  admiration  of  man  and  God  himself,  Who  did 
say  of  man:  "Not  only  good,  but  very  good." 

A  GREAT  PROBLEM. 

I  consider  ear-wax  one  of  the  most  important  questions 
before  the  minds  of  our  physiologists.  The  first  and  only  knowl- 
edge of  this  substance  begins  with  the  observer's  eye,  when  he 
beholds  the  dry  wax  as  it  is  excreted  and  dropped  into  the  cavi- 
ties of  the  ear.  A  question  arises,  and  stands  without  answer : 
Is  this  substance  which  is  commonly  called  ear-wax,  technically 
called  cerumen,  dead,  or  is  it  alive  while  in  this  visible  form? 
If  dead,  why  and  how  did  it  loose  its  life?  Why  has  it  not  been 
consumed  if  once  a  living  substance?  When  alive,  is  it  in  the 
gaseous  or  fluid  state?  And  when  alive  and  consumed  as 
nutriment  by  the  system,  what  does  it  nourish?  These  are 


298          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

questions  for  the  philosopher's  attention;  not  his  superficial, 
but  his  deepest  thought.  Why  is  it  deposited  in  the  center  of 
the  brain,  if  not  to  impart  its  vital  principle  to  all  nerves  inter- 
ested in  life  and  nutrition,  both  physical  and  vital?  Its  loca- 
tion, in  itself,  would  indicate  its  importance.  Another  thought 
is,  that  no  better  place  could  be  selected  in  which  to  establish 
and  locate  a  universal  supply  office  for  the  laborers  of  all  parts 
of  the  whole  superstructure.  Another  question  arises :  When 
we  examine  a  person  paralyzed  on  one  side,  why  do  we  find 
this  bread  of  life  in  such  great  quantities  and  not  consumed? 
Have  not  one-half  of  the  brain  and  the  nerves  of  that  whole  side, 
limbs  and  all,  lost  their  power  of  digestion?  Is  hemiplegia  a 
dyspepsia  of  the  nerves  of  nutriment  of  the  brain  and  organs  of 
that  side?  If  so,  we  have  some  foundation  on  which  to  build 
an  answer  why  this  wax  is  not  consumed  and  is  dried  up  in  the 
ears  of  the  paralytic.  The  answer  would  be,  that  nutrition  is 
suspended. 

DIFFERENCES  IN  SEVERITY. 

Let  us  take  croup,  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  la  grippe,  and 
all  classes  of  colds  on  to  pneumonia.  They  present  about  the 
same  symptoms,  differing  more  in  degrees  of  severity  than  of 
place.  All  affect  the  tonsils,  nostrils,  membranous  air-pass- 
ages, and  lungs  in  about  the  same  way.  Croup  exceeds,  by  con- 
tracting the  trachea  enough  to  impede  the  passing  of  air  to  the 
lungs.  Diphtheria  has  more  swelling  of  the  tonsils,  throat, 
and  glands  of  the  neck,  but  all  depend  upon  the  same  blood- 
and  nerve-supply,  or  a  general  law  of  blood-supply  beginning 
with  the  arteries  to  the  veins,  lymphatics,  glands,  and  ducts,  to 
supply  and  take  away  all  fluids  that  are  of  no  farther  use  for 
vital  and  material  support.  As  all  authors  have  agreed  that 
the  brain  furnishes  the  propelling  forces  to  the  nerves,  it  would 
be  proper  to  inquire  how  the  brain  is  nourished.  The  great 


EAR-WAX  AND  ITS  USES.  299 

cerebral  system  of  arteries  supplies  the  brain,  to  which  it  gives 
materials  of  all  fluids  and  electric  and  magnetic  forces,  which 
must  be  generated  in  the  brain.  Then  a  question  arises:  If 
the  heart,  lungs,  liver,  pancreas,  lymphatics,  kidneys,  and  all 
parts  of  the  body  depend  upon  the  brain  for  power,  what  do 
they  give  in  return  ?  If  they  give  back  anything,  it  must  be  of 
the  kind  of  material  of  the  organ  from  whence  it  comes.  Each 
must  help  to  keep  up  the  universal  harmony  by  furnishing  its 
mite  of  its  own  kind.  Suppose  lung  fever  is  the  effect  of  lack 
of  renal  salts ;  where  would  be  a  better  place  from  which  to  dis- 
patch to  renal  organs  than  the  ears,  to  reach  the  brain  and 
touch  the  nerve  that  connects  with  the  sympathetic  ganglion? 
Suppose  we  take  the  cerumen,  in  its  fluid  state,  from  the 
ears,  by  secretions  to  the  lungs,  and  see  the  action  of  air  and 
other  substances  on  it,  and  it  on  them.  We  may  safely  look 
for  a  general  action  of  some  kind.  If  it  be  magnetic  food,  we 
will  see  the  magnetic  power  shown  hi  the  lungs  and  through 
the  whole  system,  vitalizing  all  organs  and  functions  of  life. 
Thus  the  lymphatics  will  be  moved  to  wash  out  impurities  and 
the  nutritive  nerves  will  rebuild,  lost  energy.  As  but  little  is 
known  or  said  of  how  or  where  the  cerumen  is  formed,  we  will 
guess  it  is  formed  under  the  skin  in  the  fascia  and  conveyed  to 
the  ears  by  the  secretory  ducts.  Its  place  and  how  it  is  man- 
ufactured are  not  questions  of  as  great  importance  as  its  use  in 
disease  and  health.  I  have  reason  to  believe  I  have  found  a 
reliable  pointer  for  the  cause  of  croup,  diphtheria,  and  pneu- 
monia ;  also  a  rational  cure  which  any  mother  can  appropriate, 
and  thus  save  her  babe  from  choking  to  death  in  her  arms. 
Having  witnessed  croup  in  all  its  deadly  work  for  fifty  years,  and 
seen  the  best  skill  of  each  year  and  generation  fail  to  save,  or 
even  give  relief,  I  lost  all  hope,  and  began  to  believe  there  was 
no  help,  and  that  the  doctor  was  only  one  more  witness  to  the 
scene  of  death  and  carnage  found  along  the  mysterious  road 


300  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES   OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

that  croup  travels  in  its  destruction  of  the  babes  of  the  earth. 
Of  late  days  we  have  new  and  different  names  for  the  disease ; 
but,  alas !  it  kills  the  babes  just  as  it  did  before  it  was  called 
diphtheria,  la  grippe,  and  so  on. 

WRITTEN  FOR  THE  HOME 

I  write  this  more  for  the  mothers  than  for  the  critics.  I 
say  to  you  mothers,  as  you  are  not  osteopaths,  you  are  per- 
fectly safe  in  putting  glycerine  in  a  child's  ears.  It  is  made 
from  oils  and  fats.  I  believe  when  the  wax  is  not  consumed 
it  clogs  up  the  excretories  with  dead  matter,  and  the  irritation 
of  the  nerves  of  the  throat,  neck,  lungs,  and  lymphatics  give 
cause  for  the  swelling  of  the  tonsils  and  glands  of  the  neck.  I 
see  wisdom  hi  treating  croup  from  the  nerve-centers  of  the 
brain.  The  uses  and  importance  of  healthy  ear-wax  as  a  cure 
for  disease  has  not  had  the  attention  of  any  author  on  disease 
or  physiology,  so  far  as  I  can  find.  I  hope  time  and  atten- 
tion may  lead  us  to  a  better  knowledge  of  cures  for  diphtheria, 
croup,  scarlet  fever,  and  all  diseases  of  the  throat  and  lungs. 
My  experience  up  to  date  with  such  diseases,  when  treated  as 
indicated,  by  keeping  the  ear-wax  in  a  fluid  state,  has  been 
very  encouraging.  Though  it  has  been  but  a  short  time  since 
I  began  treatment  by  this  method,  it  has  proven  successful 
with  both  the  young  and  old 

As  all  authors  so  far  seem  silent,  even  on  the  subject  of  when 
or  how  the  wax  is  formed,  we  must  resort  to  careful  investigation 
to  find  the  relation  of  the  cerumen  system  to  health.  To  intel- 
ligently acquaint  the  mother  with  this  treatment,  who  does  not 
understand  anatomy  sufficiently  to  give  osteopathic  treatment 
for  croup,  diphtheria,  and  so  on,  I  will  say :  Take  a  soft  cloth, 
wet,  and  wash  the  child's  neck  and  rub  gently  down  from  the 
ears  to  the  breast  and  shoulders;  keep  the  ears  moistened,  fre- 
quently dropping  glycerine  into  them.  Use  glycerine,  because 


EAR-WAX  AND  ITS  USES.  3OI 

it  will  mix  with  the  water  and  dissolve  the  wax,  while  sweet  oil 
and  other  oils  will  not  do  so. 

No  TIME  FOR  DEBATE. 

On  one  occasion  I  was  called  to  see  a  babe  having  malig- 
nant croup  in  its  worst  form.  I  examined  its  ears  to  see  the 
condition  of  the  wax.  I  had  noticed  in  consumptives  that 
some  cases  had  great  quantities  of  dry  wax  in  one  or  both  ears, 
but  up  to  this  time  I  had  not  thought  of  such  deposits  as  be- 
ing an  evidence  of  lost  or  suspended  action  of  the  nerves  that 
manufactured  cerumen  and  sustained  vitality.  In  this  case  I 
found  the  wax  dry  and  very  hard,  with  considerable  swell- 
ing and  hardness  in  the  region  of  the  ears,  Eustachian  tubes, 
and  tonsils.  I  reasoned  that  the  excretory  duct  had  become 
clogged,  and  that  by  the  wax  being  retained  in  ducts  and  glands 
an  irritation  of  the  nerves  of  the  cervical  lymphatics  had  caused 
contraction  near  the  head,  and  had  produced  congestion  of  the 
lymphatics,  of  the  pneumogastric,  and  cut  off  the  nerve-supply 
from  the  lungs.  Believing  this  to  be  very  likely,  I  concluded 
to  act  on  the  above  line  of  reasoning  and  see  if  I  could  give 
some  relief.  I  did  not  stop  to  debate  why  the  wax  was  hard 
and  dry,  but  how  to  soften  the  wax  was  the  question  of  import- 
ance to  me  then.  So  I  proceeded.  I  reasoned  that  soap  and 
water  would  be  the  best  treatment  to  clean  the  ears  and  soften 
the  wax.  At  this  point  the  selection  of  the  best  make  of  soap 
was  desired,  so  I  took  pure  glycerine  and  water,  dropped  in  a 
few  drops,  and  took  a  small  roll  of  cloth  moistened  in  warm 
water  and  pushed  it  into  the  ears  to  keep  them  wet.  In  a  few 
minutes  I  dampened  and  inserted  soft  cloth  corks  into  the 
child's  ears.  I  twisted  the  corks  around  in  the  ears  to  mix  the 
water  and  wax  to  a  softened  condition.  In  a  few  minutes  I  got 
the  wax  softened,  and  the  child  coughed  up  phlegm  easily,  and 
when  came  the  dreaded  hour,  ten  o'clock  at  night,  all  danger 
had  passed. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Convulsions. 

OLD  SYSTEMS  UNRELIABLE. 

I  have  been  trying  to  unfold,  and  feel  I  have  succeeded  in 
unfolding  to  a  better  understanding,  natural  laws;  laws  which 
should  be  our  guide  and  action  in  treating  all  diseases  that  mar 
the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  human  race  by  misery  and  death. 
Old  systems,  with  their  unreliable  suggestions  to  guide  the  doc- 
tor in  treating  diseases,  have  proven  unworthy  of  respect,  if 
merit  is  to  be  the  rule  of  the  weights  and  measures  of  intelligence. 
I  have  become  so  disgusted  with  the  verbiage  and  nonsense 
that  follow  the  pens  on  treatises  on  disease  that  I  have  con- 
cluded, for  the  time  being,  to  give  names  that  may  appear 
novel  to  the  reader,  as  I  draw  his  attention  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  mysteries  hitherto  unsolved  and  unexplained.  We  have 
panned  and  washed  along  the  suggestions  of  the  medical  author- 
ities, and  have  obtained  no  gold. 

There  are  two  very  large  and  powerful  rivers  passing  fluids 
in  opposite  directions  over  a  territory  that  I  will  call  the  Klon- 
dike of  life.  This  territory  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  a  gre.it 
wall,  which,  according  to  the  old  books,  is  called  the  diaphragm. 
Through  this  wall  courses  a  great  river  of  life  that  spreads  all 
over  the  plains  of  the  anterior  lumbar  region.  On  that  plain 
we  find  a  great  system  of  perfect  irrigation  of  cities,  villages, 
and  fertile  soils  of  life.  This  region  of  country  covers  one  of 
the  greatest  and  most  fertile  fields  of  life-producing  elements, 
and  places  its  products  on  the  thoroughfares,  and  sends  them 


CONVULSIONS.  303 

back  over  the  great  central  railroad,  the  thoracic  duct,  from 
lymphatics  of  the  abdomen,  to  the  heart  and  lungs,  to  be  con- 
verted into  a  higher  order  of  living  matter.  When  refined 
there,  it  is  called  blood,  and  is  used  to  sustain  its  own  machin- 
ery, and  all  other  machines  of  the  body.  What  would  be  the 
effect  on  life  and  health  if  we  should  cut  off,  dam  up,  or  sus- 
pend the  flow  of  the  aorta  as  it  descends  close  to  the  vena  cava 
and  thoracic  duct  as  they  return  with  their  contents  through 
the  diaphragm  on  their  journey  to  the  heart  and  lungs?  And 
after  having  supplied  the  plain,  what  would  be  the  effect  if  the 
vena  cava  and  its  system  of  drainage,  and  the  thoracic  duct, 
should  be  dammed  up  so  that  chyle  and  blood  could  not  be  car- 
ried to  the  heart  and  lungs  for  renewal  and  purification  and 
changes?  How  much  thought  would  it  require  to  see  that  by 
stopping  the  arterial  flow  or  that  of  the  vena  cava,  an  irritating 
and  famishing  condition  would  ensue,  with  congested  veins, 
lymphatics,  and  all  organs  of  the  abdomen,  causing  fermenta- 
tion, congestion,  and  inflammation,  which  in  time  cause  con- 
fusion and  conditions  that  have  long  been  a  mystery,  and  have 
been  called  typhoid  fever,  dysentery,  bilious  fever,  periodical 
spasms,  and  so  on  through  the  whole  list  of  general  and  special 
diseases. 

PANNING  FOR  GOLD. 

I  would  advise  the  practicing  osteopath  to  do  some  very 
careful  panning  up  and  down  the  rivers  of  the  Klondike,  for  if 
you  fail  to  find  gold,  and  much  of  it,  you  would  better  spend 
the  remainder  of  your  life  where  reason  dwelleth  not.  Ever 
remember  that  ignorance  of  the  geography  and  customs  of  this 
country  is  the  wet  powder  of  success. 

FITS. 

We  often  see  persons  afflicted  with  fits  or  falling  sick- 
ness, which  the  doctor  has  failed  to  cure.  What  is  a  fit?  For 


304  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

want  of  better  knowledge,  we  have  an  established  theory  that 
"hysteria"  is  purely  a  woman's  imagination,  and,  as  we  must 
respect  old  theories,  we  will  call  it  a  fit  of  meanness.  This  and 
other  theories  we  have  had  for  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper, 
year  in  and  year  out,  and  we  are  asked  to  respect  such  trash 
because  of  "established  theories."  We  are  instructed  by  the 
universal  "all"  of  the  various  medical  schools  to  proceed  to 
punish  her  with  a  wet  towel,  well  twisted  and  administered 
freely,  more  comprehensively  expressed  by  the  term  "  spanker," 
and  spank  her  very  much.  The  American  School  of  Osteopathy 
has  made  a  departure,  however,  and  has  issued  orders  to  "wal- 
lop," and  "wallop"  very  freely,  the  empty-headed  schools  and 
theories  that  have  no  more  sense  than  to  torture  a  sick  person, 
and  do  so  only  to  disguise  their  ignorance  of  the  cause  of  her 
disease.  This  ignorance  is  shown  by  the  name  of  the  spas- 
modic effect  that  has  been  given  by  the  little  book  of  guess- 
work, generally  called  and  known  as  "  symptomatology." 

Not  a  single  author  has  hinted  or  in  any  way  intimated 
that  the  cause  of  her  disease  is  a  failure  of  the  passing  of  the 
blood,  chyle,  and  other  substances  to  and  from  the  abdomen 
to  nourish  and  renovate  the  abdominal  viscera,  that  are  dis- 
eased owing  to  a  lapsed  diaphragm,  which  would  cause  resist- 
ance to  the  blood-flow  in  the  aorta,  through  which  passes  the 
arterial  blood,  and  the  vena  cava,  through  which  the  venous 
blood  returns.  There  must  also  be  interference  with  the  flow 
from  the  receptaculum  chyli. 

The  afflicted  one  is  intoxicated.  Here  is  where  she  gets  a 
poisonous  alcohol,  and  will  never  be  relieved  permanently  until 
the  "wet  towel"  of  reason  has  been  slapped  on  both  sides  of  the 
attending  physician's  head,  so  he  can  hear  the  squeezing  and 
rattling  of  regurgitation,  and  the  straining  and  creaking  of  the 
fluids  in  their  effort  to  pass  through  the  diaphragm.  Until  he 
learns  this,  I  would  apply  the  "wet  towel"  of  reason  to  the  doc- 


CONVULSIONS.  305 

tor,  for  fear  he  might  become  lukewarm  in  his  studies  and  give  his 
patient  a  hypodermic  injection  of  morphine,  which  is  the  advice 
given  at  one  of  the  recent  conventions  of  medical  men,  who 
practice  "old  established  "  theories  rather  than  be  honest  enough 
to  say,  "The  woman  is  sick  and  I  know  it,  but  I  do  not  know  the 
cause  of  her  trouble." 

WHAT  Is  A  FIT? 

If  God's  judgment  is  to  be  respected,  a  fit  is  the  life-saving 
step  and  move,  perfectly  natural,  perfectly  reasonable,  and  it 
should  be  respected  and  received  as  divinely  wise,  because  on 
that  natural  action  which  is  thus  produced  on  the  constrictor 
nerves  first,  then  the  muscles,  veins,  nerves,  and  arteries  with 
all  their  centers.  It  appears  that  the  vital  fluids  have  all  been 
used  up  or  consumed  by  the  sensory  system,  and  in  order  to  be 
temporarily  replenished,  this  convulsion  shows  its  natural  use 
by  squeezing  vital  fluids  from  all  parts  of  the  body  to  nour- 
ish and  sustain  the  sensory  system,  which  has  been  emptied  by 
mental  and  vital  action,  until  death  would  have  been  inevitable 
without  this  convulsing  element  to  supply  the  sensory  system, 
though  it  may  be  but  for  a  short  time. 

The  oftener  fits  come  the  oftener  the  nutrient  part  of  the 
sensory  system  cries  aloud  in  its  own  though  unmistakable 
language,  that  it  must  have  nourishment  that  it  may  run  the 
machinery  of  life,  or  it  must  give  up  the  ghost  and  die.  In 
this  dire  extremity  and  struggle  for  life,  it  has  asked  the  motor 
system  to  suspend  its  action,  use  its  power,  and  squeeze  out  of 
any  part  of  the  whole  body,  though  it  be  the  brain  itself,  a  few 
drops  of  cerebro-spinal  fluid,  or  anything  higher  or  lower,  so  it 
may  live. 

Those  of  you  who  are  acquainted  with  the  fertile  fields 
which  we  have  here  referred  to  will  be  enabled  to  furnish  the 
sensory  system  with  such  nutriment  as  will  not  make  it  neces- 


306  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATBHY. 

sary  to  appeal  to  you  through  the  language  used  by  the  uncon- 
scious convulsions  with  all  their  horrible  contortions. 

You  surely  see  with  the  microscope  of  reason  that  the  sen- 
sory nerves  must  be  constantly  nourished,  and  that  all  nutri- 
ment for  the  nerves  must  be  obtained  from  the  abdomen, 
though  its  propelling  force  should  come  directly  from  the  brain. 
The  nerve-course  from  the  brain  must  be  unobstructed  from 
the  cerebrum,  cerebellum,  medulla  oblongata,  and  on  through 
the  whole  spinal  cord.  We  must  have  a  normal  neck,  a  normal 
back,  and  normal  ribs,  which  means  to  an  osteopath  careful 
work,  with  a  power  to  know  and  a  mind  to  reason  that  the  work 
is  done  wisely  to  a  finish.  I  hope  that  with  these  suggestions 
you  will  go  on  with  the  investigation  to  a  satisfactory  degree  of 
success. 

RIB  DISLOCATIONS. 

I  wish  to  insert  a  short  paragraph  on  a  few  effects  follow- 
ing a  downward,  forward,  and  outward  dislocation  of  the  four 
upper  ribs  on  either  side.  We  have  been  familiar  with  asthma, 
goitre,  pen  paralysis,  shaking  palsy,  spasms,  and  heart  diseases 
of  various  kinds.  We  have  been  as  familiar  with  the  existence 
of  those  abnormal  variations  as  we  are  with  the  rising  and  the 
setting  of  the  sun.  Our  best  philosophers  on  diseases  and 
causes  have  elaborately  compiled  and  published  their  conclu- 
sions, and  the  world  has  carefully  perused  with  deep  interest 
what  they  have  said  of  all  these  diseases  and  of  diseases  of 
the  lungs.  We  are  left,  however,  in  total  darkenss  as  to  the 
cause  of  those  diseases,  as  well  as  of  fits,  insanity,  loss  of  voice, 
brachial  agitans,  and  many  other  diseases  of  the  chest,  neck, 
and  head.  As  the  field  is  open  for  any  philosopher  to  make 
known  the  results  of  his  observations,  I  will  avail  myself  of  this 
opportunity  and  say  in  a  very  few  words  that  I  have  found  no 


CONVULSIONS.  307 

one  of  these  diseases  to  have  an  existence  without  some  varia- 
ation  of  the  first  few  of  the  upper  ribs  of  the  chest.  With  this 
I  will  leave  farther  exploration  in  the  hands  of  other  persons, 
and  await  the  reports  of  their  observations  pro  and  con. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Obstetrics. 

MORNING  SICKNESS. 

When  a  woman  disregards  the  laws  of  Nature  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  overload  the  stomach  beyond  its  powers  and  lim- 
its, distending  it  so  that  it  occupies  so  much  space  as  to  cripple 
the  laws  of  digestion  and  retain  the  food,  decomposition  will  set 
up  an  irritation  of  the  nerves  of  the  mucous  membranes  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  cause  sickness  and  vomiting.  When  the  nerves 
cannot  take  up  nutrition,  they  will  take  up  destruction  and 
other  elements  which  are  detrimental  to  the  process  of  nutri- 
tion, and  there  is  no  other  chance  for  relief  except  in  "unload- 
ing." The  stomach  itself  is  a  sac.  When  filled  to  its  greatest 
capacity,  it  irritates  all  the  surroundings,  and  in  return  they 
irritate  the  stomach.  Thus  it  unloads  naturally  for  relief. 
Now  we  wish  to  treat  of  another  vessel  similar  in  size,  similar 
in  all  its  actions,  which  receives  nourishment  for  a  being,  which 
nourishment  is  contained  in  the  blood,  and  conveyed  from  the 
channels  commonly  known  as  uterine  arteries.  To  all  intents 
and  purposes,  this  nourishment  is  taken  there  to  sustain  animal 
life.  After  having  constructed  the  machinery,  it  appropriates 
the  blood  to  the  growth  and  existence  of  a  human  being.  This 
is  the  womb.  The  placenta  in  the  womb  is  provided  with  all 
the  machinery  necessary  to  the  preparation  of  blood  that  is 
used  for  all  purposes  in  the  formation  and  development  of  a 
child.  Both  the  stomach  and  womb  receive  and  distribute 
nourishment  to  sustain  animal  life.  Both  get  sick;  both  vomit 


OBSTETRICS.  3O9 

when  irritated,  and  discharge  their  load  by  the  natural  law  of 
"throw  up"  and  "throw  down."  Now  note  the  difference  and 
govern  yourselves  accordingly.  The  one  is  the  upper  stomach 
that  takes  coarser  material  and  refines  the  unrefined  substan- 
ces, and  keeps  the  outer  man  in  form  and  being.  The  other 
contains  the  inner  man  or  child,  and  by  the  law  of  ejection,  when 
it  becomes  an  irritant,  it  is  thrown  out  by  the  nerves  that  gov- 
ern the  muscles  of  ejection. 

CAUSE. 

Diseases  of  the  nerves  of  the  pelvis  come  from  pressure  of 
the  bowels  and  other  organs  of  the  abdomen  and  osseous  dis- 
turbances. Thus  we  have  a  cause  for  morning  sickness  in  preg- 
nancy. All  the  nerves  of  the  pelvis  are  pressed  down  upon 
from  above  by  the  weight  of  the  large  and  small  intestines  and 
the  weight  of  the  womb  pressing  down  upon  the  nerves  of  the 
sacrum  and  pelvis.  Thus  morning  sickness  seems  to  be  natural. 
We  would  conclude,  from  the  relation  of  arteries  and  nerves 
which  at  this  time  begin  an  active  upbuilding  for  the  devel- 
opment of  the  foetus,  that  any  disturbance  from  the  normal 
would  be  a  cause  for  this  sickness. 

TREATMENT. 

To  relieve  such  conditions,  having  the  patient  in  the  knee- 
and-chest  position  will  place  the  abdomen  in  the  proper  form 
for  unloading  the  pelvis  of  any  impacted  condition.  Then  place 
the  hands  low  down  on  the  abdomen  and  draw  the  contents 
of  the  pelvis  forward  toward  the  umbilicus  and  up  from  the  pel- 
vis, to  give  free  passage  of  blood  and  other  fluids  circulating  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  abdomen.  Often  the  bowels  are  filled 
with  dry  faecal  matter  and  press  upon  the  uterus,  rectum,  and 
bladder,  causing  irritation  of  nerves  of  the  organs  of  the  abdo- 
men, also  pressing  on  the  blood-  and  lymph-vessels,  stopping 


310  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

healthy  action  in  the  economy  of  life  in  the  whole  viscera.  Thus 
to  be  sick  at  the  stomach  would  be  natural.  We  reason  that 
to  confuse  the  normal  flow  of  the  fluids  that  enter  into  the  for- 
mation of  urine  would  cause  these  fluids  to  be  taken  up  by  other 
secretory  ducts  and  conveyed  to  nerve-peripheries  and  cells, 
causing  sickness  at  the  stomach.  We  find,  by  any  method  of 
reasoning,  that  morning  sickness  is  the  result  of  poisonous 
fluids  being  taken  up  by  the  solar  system,  and  that  it  is  the 
effort  to  get  such  poisons  out  of  the  system  that  makes  vomiting 
necessary. 

To  assist  the  young  operator,  we  would  suggest  that  he 
refresh  his  mind,  previous  to  proceeding  with  operations  to 
relieve  the  stomach  of  this  irritable  condition,  by  looking  over 
the  nerve-  and  blood-supply  of  the  uterus  and  other  abdominal 
organs.  Know  the  nerve-supply  of  the  uterus  ;  know  the  ova- 
rian plexus  and  the  inferior  hypogastric  and  sacral  nerves, 
with  which  you  are  no  doubt  familiar.  The  blood-supply  of 
the  uterus  comes  from  the  ovarian,  vaginal,  and  uterine  arteries, 
with  which  the  student  should  also  be  familiar. 


DEVELOPMENT  OP  THE 

Just  as  long  as  digestion  and  assimilation  keep  hi  harmony 
and  the  mother  generates  good  blood  in  abundance,  the  child 
grows,  and  by  nature  the  womb  is  willing  to  let  the  work  of 
building  the  body  of  the  child  go  on  indefinitely.  But  Nature 
has  placed  all  the  functions  of  animal  life  under  laws  that  are 
absolute  and  must  be  obeyed.  We  are  asked  to  note  the  sim- 
ilarity of  the  stomach  and  womb,  as  both  receive  and  pass 
nutriment  to  a  body  for  assimilation  and  growth.  When  a 
stomach  gets  overloaded,  sickness  begins,  because  digestion  and 
assimilation  have  stopped;  then  the  decaying  matter  is  taken 
up  by  the  terminal  nerves  and  conveyed  to  the  solar  plexus, 
causing  the  nerves  of  ejection  to  throw  the  dying  matter  out  of 


OBSTETRICS.1  311 

the  stomach.  Try  your  reason  and  see  the  stomach  below 
sicken  and  unload  its  burden.  Is  this  sickness  natural  and 
wisely  caused?  If  this  is  not  the  philosophy  of  midwifery, 
what  is?  As  soon  as  a  being  takes  possession  of  its  room,  the 
commissary  of  supplies  begins  to  furnish  rations  for  that  being, 
which  has  to  build  for  itself  a  dwelling-place.  The  house  must 
be  built  strictly  to  the  letter  of  the  specifications.  Much  bone 
and  flesh  must  be  put  into  the  house,  and  some  of  all  elements 
known  to  the  chemist  must  be  used  and  wisely  blended  to  give 
strength.  All  material  to  be  used  hi  the  house  must  be  exact 
in  form  and  of  given  strength,  sufficient  to  furnish  the  forces 
that  may  be  necessary  to  execute  the  hard  and  continued  labors 
of  the  machinery  that  is  used  in  all  these  transactions  and 
motions  of  mind  and  body.  Now  we  must  go  to  the  manufact- 
uring chief  and  have  him,  through  the  quartermaster,  deliver 
and  keep  a  full  supply  of  all  kinds  of  material  for  the  work,  and 
when  the  engine  is  done,  put  it  on  an  inclined  plane  and  cut 
the  stay-chains  and  let  it  run  out  of  the  shop.  Be  careful  not 
to  let  the  engine  deface  or  tear  the  door  as  it  comes  out.  A 
question  is  asked :  On  what  road  does  the  quartermaster  send 
the  supplies?  As  there  is  but  one  system  over  which  the  engine 
can  bring  supplies,  we  will  call  that  road  the  uterine  system  of 
arteries.  The  machinist  replies  that  he  will  open  the  door  of 
this  great  manufacturing  shop  and  let  the  engine  roll  out  by 
the  power  and  methods  prepared  to  run  out  finished  work. 
First  you  see  a  door  open  because  the  lock  is  taken  off  by  a  key 
that  opens  all  mysteries.  The  great  ropes  that  have  been  far 
inferior  to  the  power  of  resistance  that  has  held  the  door  shut 
are  all-sufficient  in  power.  By  getting  sick,  muscles  become 
convulsed  with  force  enough  to  easily  push  the  new  engine  of 
life  out  into  open  space,  by  Nature's  team  that  never  fails  to 
deliver  all  goods  entrusted  to  its  care. 


312         PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

PREPARATION 

A  student  of  midwifery  can  only  learn  a  few  general  prin- 
ciples before  he  gets  into  the  field  of  experience.  Actual  con- 
tact with  labor  teaches  him  that  much  that  he  has  read  is  of  but 
little  use  to  him  at  the  bedside.  What  he  needs  to  know  is 
what  he  will  have  to  do  after  he  gets  there.  He  must  know 
the  form  and  size  of  the  bones  of  a  woman  and  how  large  a  hole 
the  three  bones  of  the  pelvis  make,  for  the  reason  that  the 
child's  head  will  soon  come  through  that  space.  He  must  know 
a  normal  head  cannot  come  through  a  pelvis  that  has  been 
crushed  in  so  much  as  to  bring  the  pubes  within  1%  to  2\ 
inches  of  the  sacrum.  He  must  examine  and  know  these  con- 
ditions soon  after  he  is  called,  for  the  reason  that  he  will  have 
to  use  instruments  in  such  deformities,  and  may  wish  the 
counsel  of  an  older  and  more  experienced  doctor.  This  pre- 
caution will  give  him  time  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency. 

More  than  90  per  cent  of  all  cases,  however,  are  of  a  very 
simple  nature.  The  mother  is  warned  by  pains  in  the  back 
and  womb  at  repeated  intervals  of  one-half  hour  or  less.  When 
by  the  finger  the  doctor  can  tell  the  mouth  of  the  womb  has 
opened  to  the  size  of  a  quarter  or  half-dollar,  he  then  may  know 
that  labor  will  soon  start,  and  at  this  time  it  is  well  to  call  for 
twine  and  prepare  two  strings  about  a  foot  long  to  tie  around 
the  navel-cord. 

CAUTION. 

The  first  duty  of  the  obstetrician  is  to  carefully  examine 
the  bones  of  the  pelvis  and  spine  of  the  mother,  to  ascertain  if 
they  are  normal  in  shape  and  position.  If  there  is  any  doubt 
about  the  spine  and  pelvis  being  in  good  condition  for  the 
passage  of  the  head  through  the  bones,  and  you  find  the  pelvic 
deformity  enough  to  prohibit  the  passage  of  the  head,  notify 
the  parties  of  the  danger  in  the  case  at  once,  and  that  you  do 


OBSTETRICS.  313 

not  wish  to  take  the  responsibility  alone,  as  it  may  require 
instruments  to  deliver  the  child  and  there  is  danger  of  death  to 
the  child  and  to  the  mother  also,  but  less  danger  to  the  mother 
than  to  the  child.  Now  you  have  done  that  which  is  a  safeguard 
against  all  troubles  following  criminal  ignorance. 

FIRST  EXAMINATION. 

I  will  give  you  a  condensed  rule  of  procedure  in  all  normal 
cases  of  obstetrics.  With  the  index  finger,  examine  the  os 
uteri;  if  closed  and  only  backache,  have  the  patient  turn  on 
her  right  side,  and  press  the  hand  on  the  abdomen  above  the 
pelvis,  and  gently  press  or  lift  the  belly  up  just  enough  to  allow 
the  blood  to  pass  down  and  up  the  pelvis  and  limbs.  Relax  all 
nerves  of  the  pelvis  at  the  pubes. 

SECOND  EXAMINATION. 

Wait  a  few  hours  and  examine  the  os  again.  If  still  closed 
and  no  periodical  pains  are  present,  you  are  safe  to  leave  the 
case  in  the  hands  of  the  nurse,  instructed  to  send  for  you  if  reg- 
ular pains  return  at  intervals.  On  your  return,  explore  the  os 
again,  and  if  it  is  found  to  open  as  large  as  a  dime,  you  are  noti- 
fied that  labor  has  begun  its  work  of  delivery.  You  now  place 
the  patient  on  her  back,  propped  to  an  easy  angle  of  nearly  30 
degrees,  with  a  rubber  blanket  in  place.  After  you  find  the  os 
dilated  to  nearly  the  size  of  a  dollar,  then  relax  the  nerves  at 
the  pubes.  Soon  you  will  find  in  the  mouth  of  the  womb  an 
egg-shaped  pouch  of  water,  which  you  must  not  press  with  the 
fingers  until  very  late  in  labor,  for  fear  of  stopping  labor  for 
perhaps  many  hours.  Remember  the  head  can  and  does  turn  in 
the  pelvis  to  suit  the  easiest  passage  through  the  bones,  while 
in  the  fluids  of  the  amniotic  sac.  Now,  as  you  know  why  not 
to  rupture  the  sac  and  spill  the  fluids,  you  are  prepared  to  pro- 
ceed to  other  duties,  which  are  to  prevent  rupture  of  the  per- 


314  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  OSTEOPATHY. 

ineum.  Place  the  left  hand  on  the  belly,  about  two  inches 
above  the  symphysis,  and  push  the  soft  parts  down  with  the 
left  hand ;  support  the  perineum  with  the  right  hand  until  the 
head  passes  over.  This  is  necessary  to  prevent  rupture  of  the 
perineum.  If  you  follow  this  law  of  Nature,  laceration  may 
occur  in  one  out  of  a  thousand  cases,  and  you  will  be  to  blame 
for  that  one,  and  may  be  censured  for  criminal  ignorance. 

Now  you  have  conducted  the  head  safely  through  the  pel- 
vis and  vagina  to  the  world.  You  will  find  the  pains  stop  right 
short  off  for  about  a  minute,  and  that  is  the  time  to  learn 
whether  the  navel-cord  is  wrapped  around  the  child's  neck.  If 
it  is  found  twisted  around  the  neck  once  or  more,  you  must  slip 
a  finger  around  the  neck  and  loosen  the  cord,  to  let  blood  pass 
through  the  cord  until  the  next  pain  comes,  in  order  to  ward  off 
asphyxia  of  the  child. 

CARE  OF  THE  CORD. 

When  the  next  pain  comes,  gently  pull  the  child's  head 
down  toward  the  bed.  There  is  no  danger  of  hurting  the  per- 
ineum now  that  the  head  has  passed  the  soft  parts.  At  this 
time  the  danger  is  suffocation  of  the  child.  Never  draw  the 
child  too  far  away  from  mother's  birth-place  by  force,  as  you 
may  tear  the  navel-string  from  the  child  and  cause  it  to  bleed 
to  death.  If  you  value  the  life  of  the  child,  then  you  must  be 
careful  not  to  place  the  navel  end  of  the  string  in  any  danger 
of  being  torn  off.  Now  you  have  done  good  work  for  both 
mother  and  child.  The  child  is  in  the  world,  and  you  want  to 
show  the  mother  a  living  baby  for  her  labor  and  suffering  of 
the  past  nine  months.  The  baby  is  born,  and  the  mother  is 
not  torn.  But  the  baby  has  not  yet  cried.  Turn  it  on  its  side, 
face  down,  run  your  finger  in  its  mouth,  and  draw  out  all  fluids, 
thick  or  thin,  to  allow  air  into  the  lungs.  Then  blow  cold 
breath  on  its  face  and  breast  to  stimulate  the  lungs  into  action. 


OBSTETRICS.  315 

SEVERING  THE  CORD. 

The  baby  cries  and  all  is  safe.  Baby  is  born  and  cries 
nicely,  but  still  has  the  cord  fastened  to  the  afterbirth.  It  has 
no  further  use  for  the  cord,  as  life  does  not  depend  on  blood 
from  the  afterbirth  any  longer.  Take  the  cord  about  three 
inches  from  the  child's  belly,  between  your  thumb  and  finger, 
and  strip  toward  the  child  to  push  the  bowels  out  of  the  cord 
if  there  should  be  any  in  it,  as  a  safeguard  for  the  bowels ;  then 
tie  a  strong  string  around  the  cord — first,  three  inches  from  the 
child's  belly,  and  second,  four  inches;  take  the  cord  in  your 
hand  and  attend  carefully  to  what  you  are  doing.  If  the  baby's 
hand  should  fall  back  to  the  cord,  you  might  cut  off  one  or  two 
fingers,  or  wound  the  hand  or  arm  very  seriously.  Cut  the 
cord  between  the  two  strings  just  tied  around  the  navel-string, 
and  look  out  for  your  scissors ;  then  pass  the  child  over  to  the 
nurse  to  be  washed  and  dressed,  while  you  deliver  the  after- 
birth from  the  pelvis  or  womb. 

DRESSING  THE  CORD. 

As  the  child  is  cared  for,  cut  a  hole  the  sire  of  your  thumb 
in  a  doubled  piece  of  cloth,  five  inches  long  by  four  wide,  put 
the  hole  two  inches  from  one  end,  and  run  the  cord  through 
the  hole.  I,ay  the  cloth  aross  the  child's  belly;  then  fold  the 
cloth  lengthwise  over  the  cord,  which  must  lie  across  the  child 
so  it  will  not  stretch  the  cord  by  handling  or  straightening  the 
child  out.  Now  you  are  ready  to  finish  the  delivery  of  the 
afterbirth.  You  have  a  plug  of  soft  and  tender  flesh  to  get  out 
of  the  womb  and  vagina. 

DELIVERY  OF  THE  AFTERBIRTH. 

As  the  afterbirth  has  grown  tight  to  the  womb  during  all 
the  days  of  the  mother's  pregnancy,  furnishing  all  the  blood 
to  build  and  keep  the  child  alive  in  the  womb  for  nine  months, 


3l6  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF   OSTEOPATHY. 

it  has  done  all  it  can  do  for  the  child  and  is  now  ready  to  leave 
the  womb.  You  are  there  to  assist  it  to  get  out  of  the  place  it 
has  occupied  so  long.  You  must  begin  to  rotate  or  roll  the  pla- 
centa, first  one  way  and  then  another,  up,  down,  and  across  the 
vagina,  by  gently  pulling  the  cord.  Look  out,  or  you  will  pull 
the  cord  loose  from  the  placenta,  and  then  you  will  have  made 
your  first  blunder,  with  no  cord  with  which  to  pull  the  placenta 
out,  and  the  mother  bleeding  and  faint  from  loss  of  blood. 
Now  is  the  time  and  place  to  save  life.  Pass  your  hand  for- 
ward into  the  soft  parts  to  get  your  fingers  behind  the  placenta ; 
now  give  a  rolling  pull  and  bring  it  out  with  the  hand.  You 
will  find  it  an  easy  matter  to  get  your  hand  into  the  vagina  and 
womb  after  the  birth  of  the  child.  Get  all  the  placenta  out; 
then  take  a  wad  of  cloth  as  large  as  the  child's  head  and  press  it 
under  the  cross-bone  of  the  pelvis ;  push  the  cloth  under  and 
up,  so  as  to  completely  plug  the  pelvis.  Now  pull  the  hair 
gently  over  the  symphysis,  which  will  cause  the  womb  to  con- 
tract by  irritation. 

CARE  OF  THE  MOTHER. 

All  is  now  done  excepting  provision  for  the  mother's  com- 
fort, which  is  your  next  duty.  Draw  her  chemise  down  her 
back  and  legs  until  it  is  straight ;  then,  with  safety-pins,  pin  the 
chemise  on  the  inner  side  of  the  thighs,  so  that  the  chemise  will 
go  around  each  thigh  separately.  Now  you  have  the  shirt  fast 
to  keep  it  from  sliding  upward,  and  you  are  ready  to  make  a 
band  of  the  chemise  to  support  the  womb  and  abdomen.  Bring 
the  chemise  tightly  together  for  two  or  three  inches  above  the 
pelvis  to  form  a  band.  Previous  to  pinning,  draw  the  womb, 
which  you  feel  above  the  symphysis,  up ;  then  pin,  and  the  belt 
you  have  made  of  the  chemise  will  support  the  womb.  All  is 
safe  now,  but  you  must  not  leave  for  two  hours.  You  may 
have  delivered  a  child  from  a  feeble  woman  who  may  flood  to 
death  after  the  delivery  of  the  child,  if  you  do  not  leave  her 


OBSTETRICS.  317 

safe.     I  have  in  mind  one  case  who  flooded  all  of  two  quarts  at 
a  single  dash.     The  first  symptom  was  a  pain  in  the  head. 

POST-DELIVERY  HEMORRHAGE. 

I  know  of  only  two  causes  that  would  produce  hemorrhage 
or  bleeding  after  the  child  is  delivered.  One  is  when  the  after- 
birth, the  placenta,  is  separated  from  its  attachment  to  the 
womb  and  still  retained  in  the  womb  or  vagina,  or  when  a  part 
is  separated  and  still  lies  in  the  womb.  That  retention  of  pla- 
centa preventing  the  natural  circular  contraction  of  the  womb 
to  close  on  itself  and  retain  it,  with  force  enough  to  prevent 
the  further  discharge  of  blood,  would  give  a  chance  for  a  con- 
tinued stream.  Then,  should  the  patient  bleed  profusely  after 
the  placenta  has  been  removed,  another  cause  would  be  in  pull- 
ing away  the  afterbirth,  as  part  of  the  upper  portion  of  the 
womb  may  be  pulled  to  an  inverted  position,  which  would  be 
like  a  hat  if  you  should  press  the  top  down  with  the  hand. 
Then  there  is  a  chance  for  leakage  because  of  this  unnatural 
fold  made  in  the  womb. 

TREATMENT. 

My  method  of  relief  is  to  insert  the  hand  and  with  the  backs 
of  the  fingers  smooth  out  all  folds.  Before  you  draw  the  right 
hand  from  the  womb,  place  the  left  hand  on  the  abdomen, 
catch  the  womb  between  the  thumb  and  finger,  and  withdraw 
the  hand.  With  the  left  hand  pull  the  hair  above  the  sym- 
physis  or  scratch  the  flesh  just  above  and  across  the  region  of 
the  symphysis,  just  enough  to  make  an  irritation.  After  the 
hand  is  out  of  the  vagina,  pass  a  small  bundle  of  cloths  as  far 
under  the  symphysis  as  would  be  necessary  to  hold  everything 
up,  and  then  fasten  the  chemise,  beginning  at  the  symphysis 
and  drawing  it  tight  about  two  inches  above  the  symphysis, 
fastening  it  with  strong  pins.  Be  sure  you  keep  the  garment 


31 8          PHILOSOPHY  AND  PRINCIPLES  OP  OSTEOPATHY. 

tight  by  pulling  it  down  between  the  thighs.  The  coarser  the 
chemise  the  better,  as  you  want  to  make  a  strong  bandage  at 
that  point,  so  as  not  to  push  the  womb  down  into  the  pelvis.  If 
the  patient's  general  health  is  fairly  good,  allow  her  to  tell  you 
what  she  wants  to  eat  and  give  it  to  her.  Let  her  diet  be  in 
line  with  her  usual  custom.  You  must  remember  that  she  has 
just  left  the  condition  of  a  full  abdomen.  Lace  her  up,  fill  her 
up,  and  make  her  comfortable  for  six  hours;  then  change  her 
bedding. 

DIET. 

Remember  this,  that  if  you  stop  digestion  for  some  hours 
with  teas,  soups,  and  shadows  to  eat,  you  carry  her  to  a  condi- 
tion where  it  would  be  dangerous  to  give  her  a  hearty  meal. 
My  experience  and  custom  for  forty  years  has  been  crowned 
with  good  success.  I  never  lost  a  case  in  confinement.  I  have 
universally  told  the  cook  to  give  her  plenty  to  eat. 

TREATMENT  OF  THE  BREAST. 

If  your  patient  begins  to  have  fever,  followed  by  chilly  sen- 
sations, with  swelling  of  one  or  both  breasts,  I  relieve  that  by 
laying  her  arm  ranging  with  her  body.  Let  someone  hold  the 
arm  down  to  the  bed ;  then  I  place  both  of  my  hands  under  the 
arm  and  pull  it  up  with  considerable  force  till  I  get  it  as  high  or 
higher  than  the  normal  position  of  the  shoulder.  Then  pull  her 
shoulder  straight  out  from  the  body,  a  fairly  good  pull;  then 
pull  the  arm  up  on  a  straight  line  with  the  face,  and  be  sure 
that  you  have  let  loose  the  axillary  and  mammary  veins,  nerve, 
and  artery,  which  have  been  cramped  by  pulling  the  arm  down 
during  delivery.  No  breast  should  become  caked  in  the  hands 
of  an  osteopath.  Do  not  bother  about  the  bowels  for  two  or 
three  days.  It  may  be  necessary  to  use  the  catheter  if  the 
water  should  fail  to  pass  off  after  inhibiting  the  pubic  system. 


OBSTETRICS.  319 

This  is  straight  midwifery,  and  will  guide  you  through  in  at 
least  90  per  cent  of  the  cases  you  will  meet  in  normally  formed 
women. 

Right  here  i  wish  to  say  one  word.  I  think  it  is  very 
wrong  to  teach,  talk,  and  spend  so  much  time  with  pictures, 
cuts,  talks,  and  lectures,  and  hold  up  constantly  to  the  view  of 
the  student  births  coming  from  the  worst  possible  deformities, 
and  call  that  a  knowledge  of  midwifery.  It  is  normal  mid- 
wifery you  want  to  know  and  be  well  skilled  in.  The  abnormal 
formations  are  few  and  far  between,  and  when  a  case  of  that 
k.'tid  does  appear,  it  is  your  knowledge  of  the  normal  that  guides 
you  through  the  variations.  You  will  very  likely  neve*-  find 
two  abnormal  conditions  presenting  the  same  form  of  bone. 
As  this  is  intended  only  to  present  to  students  natural  delivery, 
I  will  let  the  subject  drop  with  one  word  about  the  sore  tongue 
of  the  mother.  Adjust  her  neck,  and  relieve  constrictor  and 
other  muscles  that  would  impede  any  blood-vessel  that  should 
drain  the  mouth  and  tongue.  Remember  this,  that  a  horse  that 
is  always  hunting  bugbears  never  finds  a  smooth  road. 


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